(のうみん)

のうみん
noun
farmer, peasant
1. farmer, peasant
A person who works in agriculture, especially a small-scale or traditional farmer.
The farmers work from early morning.
The life of farmers in the Edo period was harsh.
A farmers' movement arose.
The farmers in this region mainly grow rice.
The drought continued and the farmers' lives were seriously affected.

SIMILAR/RELATED WORDS:

  • 農家(のうか) (farm household; farmer - more common in modern usage)
  • 農業者(のうぎょうしゃ) (agricultural worker - formal)
  • 百姓(ひゃくしょう) (farmer - traditional term, can sound dated or rude)
  • 小作人(こさくにん) (tenant farmer - historical)

HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
農民(のうみん) often appears in historical contexts, such as discussions of the feudal class system where farmers were the second class (士農工商(しのうこうしょう)).

MODERN USAGE:
農家(のうか) is more commonly used today to refer to farming families or farmers in neutral contexts.