農民(のうみん)

のうみん
noun
farmer, peasant
occupation
1. farmer, peasant
A person who works in agriculture, especially a small-scale or traditional farmer.
農民(のうみん)たちは早朝(そうちょう)から働(はたら)く。
The farmers work from early morning.
江戸時代(えどじだい)の農民(のうみん)の生活(せいかつ)は厳(きび)しかった。
The life of farmers in the Edo period was harsh.
農民(のうみん)運動(うんどう)が起(お)こった。
A farmers' movement arose.
この地域(ちいき)の農民(のうみん)は主(おも)に米(こめ)を作(つく)っている。
The farmers in this region mainly grow rice.
干(かん)ばつが続(つづ)き、農民(のうみん)たちの生活(せいかつ)は深刻(しんこく)な影響(えいきょう)を受(う)けた。
The drought continued and the farmers' lives were seriously affected.

Similar words

  • 農家(のうか): farm household; farmer. The usual neutral word today
  • 農業者(のうぎょうしゃ): agricultural worker (formal, official)
  • 百姓(ひゃくしょう): farmer (traditional; can sound dated or insulting)
  • 小作人(こさくにん): tenant farmer (historical)

Usage

農民(のうみん) is most at home in historical and social contexts (江戸時代(えどじだい)の農民(のうみん), 農民(のうみん)一揆(いっき), peasant uprising) and in talk about farmers in other countries. For a present-day Japanese farmer, 農家(のうか) is more natural.

Cultural note

In the traditional four-class scheme 士農工商(しのうこうしょう), farmers were ranked second, after the samurai. Historians now regard this ranking as an idealization rather than a strict legal hierarchy.

Related Words

Related: 農家(のうか) (farm household)
core
Added 2026.1.12 21:48 · Revised 2026.9.28 13:19
03500/03759_noumin