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恍然大悟 (huǎng rán dà wù) — (idiom) to suddenly realize, to have a sudden epiphany, to see the light

Definition

恍然大悟 is a sudden realization — an ‘aha!’ moment of understanding something that was unclear before. 灵机一动 is a bright idea popping up, not figuring something out.

idiom
to suddenly realizeto have a sudden epiphanyto see the light

Examples

  • ，恍然大悟。
    Tīng wán tā de jiě shì, wǒ cái huǎng rán dà wù.
    After listening to his explanation, I finally realized.
  • ，恍然大悟。
    Kàn dào zhè ge jié guǒ, tā huǎng rán dà wù zì jǐ cuò le.
    Seeing this result, he suddenly realized he was wrong.
  • ，恍然大悟。
    Tā yì zhí bù míng bái, zhí dào jīn tiān cái huǎng rán dà wù.
    He never understood until today he suddenly realized.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
光
光guāng恍huǎng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

恍 combines 忄 (heart) with 光 (guāng); the heart part relates to the meaning, and 光 points to the sound.

Open 恍 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
肰
肰rán然rán
Same sound today

然 is made from 肰, which gives the sound, and 火, which shows fire, matching the old sense 'to burn'.

Open 然 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
吾
吾wú悟
Same sound today

悟 is made from 忄, a side form of 心, and 吾, which supplies the sound.

Open 悟 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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