Peasants
Farmers, Farming Class
noun, の adjective
In the olden days, the peoples who worked in the farm were the peasants.
農民 means farmers, but usually not in the modern sense of people who do farm work as their day job. Instead, it refers to the farming class — people who were born into a life of farming, often in historical contexts.
This is a jukugo word, which usually means on'yomi readings from the kanji. If you know the readings of your kanji you'll know how to read this as well.
農民のくらし
the life of peasants
農民の生活
life of a peasant
農民の土地
peasant land
学校で、むかしの農民のくらしを学びました。
At school, we learned about the lifestyle of long-ago peasants.
いつも農民たちは、朝日がのぼる前からはたらき出しました。
The farmers always began working before the sun rose.
農民たちは、毎日、日がくれるまでクワをふるいました。
The farmers swung their hoes every day until the sun went down.
農民の手は、土のにおいにそまっていました。
The farmers' hands were steeped in the smell of soil.