晕晕乎乎 (yūn yūn hū hū) — dizzy; in a daze; muddle‑headed

Definition

A vivid reduplicated adjective meaning 'dizzy and dazed' — your head is foggy, often from tiredness, motion, or alcohol. Pairs with 的 after a verb (变得晕晕乎乎的), describing a fuzzy, not-quite-there state.

adjective
dizzyin a dazemuddle‑headed

Examples

  • ，晕晕乎乎。
    Zuò wán guò shān chē yǐ hòu, wǒ jué de yūn yūn hū hū de.
    After riding the roller coaster, I felt dizzy and dazed.
  • ，晕晕乎乎。
    Zuó wǎn méi shuì hǎo, jīn tiān yì tiān dōu yūn yūn hū hū de.
    I didn't sleep well last night, so I've been out of it all day.
  • ，晕晕乎乎，。
    Tā hē le jǐ bēi jiǔ, jiù biàn de yūn yūn hū hū de, shuō huà dōu bù qīng chǔ le.
    After a few glasses of alcohol, he got woozy and started slurring his words.

Origin

Reduplicated word
构词法gòucífǎ
重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

晕yūndizzy
晕yūndizzy
乎hūsuffix
乎hūsuffix

The repeated 晕 and 乎 form 晕晕乎乎, strengthening the sense of dizziness.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 暈; 晕 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìSun
Sound part声符shēngfú
軍
軍jūn暈yùn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 暈 first drew 日 (the sun) ringed by lines for a halo, and later paired 日 with the sound part 軍. The simplified 晕 is a later abbreviation.

Open 晕 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 暈; 晕 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìSun
Sound part声符shēngfú
軍
軍jūn暈yùn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 暈 first drew 日 (the sun) ringed by lines for a halo, and later paired 日 with the sound part 軍. The simplified 晕 is a later abbreviation.

Open 晕 →

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

  • 丂丂kǎobranch

The old 乎 paired an element for wind or air with 丂, a branch used as a sound part, and was the original form of the word for 'to call; to cry'.

Open 乎 →

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

  • 丂丂kǎobranch

The old 乎 paired an element for wind or air with 丂, a branch used as a sound part, and was the original form of the word for 'to call; to cry'.

Open 乎 →

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