Singaporean Mandarin Database

This database contains a collection of Mandarin terms which have cultural, historical or sentimental value unique to Singapore. These terms may be used by Singaporeans in the past or at present. Some of the terms are read in print while others are used in our everyday conversations.

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草

cǎo

根

gēn

grassroots

社会

Social

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grassroots

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Illustration by Hong Shin

社会

Social

释义

名词

指社会基层、平民。也称“基层”。

DEFINITION

Noun

Refers to ordinary citizens, who form the basic level of society. Also known in Mandarin as “基层”.

由来

英语“grassroots”的意译。
“草”与“根”用于比喻基层平民的形象。
“Grassroots”在新加坡的语境中也被译为“基层”。例如，人民协会(People's Association)的网络拥有1,800余个基层组织 (grassroots organisations)。这些基层组织由协会的义工们管理，旨在促进社会和谐、深化居民之间的关爱及提高社会凝聚力。
草根也可指同政府或决策者相对的势力。

ETYMOLOGY

The Mandarin term “草根” is a paraphrase of the English term “grassroots”.
The characters “草” (“grass”) and “根” (“roots”) are used as an analogy for ordinary citizens.
“Grassroots” is also translated as “基层” in the context of Singapore. The People’s Association network is composed of over 1,800 grassroots organisations (GRO). These grassroots organisations are managed by volunteers appointed by the People’s Association and aim to promote social harmony, foster care between residents and improve social cohesion.
“草根” can also refer to grassroots forces in opposition to the Government or its policies.

例句

民间草根文化，虽属于次文化，却是社会文化重要构成部分，也会提升成为新兴的流行艺术形态，如自美国边缘次文化崛起席卷全球的嘻哈(hip-hop)文化。(《联合早报》，2/4/2017)

SAMPLE SENTENCE

Folk culture at the grassroots level may be a sub-culture, but it is an important part of Singapore’s identity. It has the potential to be developed into popular art forms, such as what happened with hip-hop culture, which emerged as an American fringe sub-culture but has since swept the world. (Lianhe Zaobao, 2/4/2017)