TongTong
Sign in

昏迷不醒 (hūn mí bù xǐng) — to remain unconscious; to be in a coma

Definition

Idiom meaning 'in a prolonged state of unconsciousness / in a coma,' emphasizing that the state persists over time (often days). Compared with 昏迷 alone, which can describe a brief faint, 昏迷不醒 stresses the ongoing, unresponsive condition.

idiom
to remain unconsciousto be in a coma

Examples

  • 昏迷不醒。
    Tā chē huò hòu yì zhí hūn mí bù xǐng.
    He has been unconscious since the car accident.
  • 昏迷不醒。
    Yī shēng shuō tā kě néng hái huì hūn mí bù xǐng jǐ tiān.
    The doctor said he might remain unconscious for a few more days.
  • 昏迷不醒。
    Bìng rén yǐ jīng hūn mí bù xǐng sān tiān le.
    The patient has been unconscious for three days.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

昏 combines 日 (sun) with 氏, a part showing lowering or going down. The picture is the sun going down at dusk.

Open 昏 →

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
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
米
米mǐ迷mí
Same sound today

迷 uses 辵, the walking part, and 米, which gives the sound.

Open 迷 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
酉酉yǒualcohol
Sound part声符shēngfú
星
星xīng醒xǐng
Same sound today

醒 combines 酉, which stands for alcohol, with 星, which gives the sound.

Open 醒 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesIllness & Symptoms

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.