晕 (yūn) — (adjective) dizzy, giddy, confused; (verb) to faint, to lose consciousness, to pass out
Definition
Covers two related senses: feeling dizzy/faint in the head (as an adjective) and actually passing out (as a verb). For loss of consciousness, 昏迷 is the medical/unconscious state; 醉 is specifically from alcohol.
adjective
dizzygiddyconfused
verb
to faintto lose consciousnessto pass out
Examples
- 晕，。Wǒ jīn tiān yǒu diǎn yūn, kě néng shì méi shuì hǎo.I'm a bit dizzy today, maybe because I didn't sleep well.
- ，晕。Tiān tài rè le, yǒu jǐ gè rén yūn guò qù le.It's so hot that several people fainted.
- ，晕。Zhè dào tí tài fù zá le, bǎ wǒ dōu nòng yūn le.This problem is so complicated that it confused me.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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.
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.
Appears in
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