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勐 is used primarily in southwestern China, especially Yunnan, to transcribe the Tai word for a settlement, chiefdom, or small state, appearing in many local place names. It is a phono-semantic compound: the right side 力 (strength, exertion) provides a meaning cue, while the left side 孟 indicates the pronunciation. The combination hints at strength or fierceness, but today the character is almost exclusively a phonetic loan for that Tai-Kadai political and territorial unit, rarely conveying its literal sense.
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