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混浊 (hùn zhuó) — turbid, muddy, dirty (of liquid or air)

Definition

Describes liquids or air that are not clear — 'turbid, murky'. Unlike 脏 ('dirty' in a general, often moral sense), 混浊 is used literally for water, air, or eyes losing transparency.

adjective
turbidmuddydirty (of liquid or air)

Examples

  • ，混浊。
    Zhè tiáo hé yǐ qián hěn qīng, xiàn zài yǐ jīng biàn de shí fēn hùn zhuó le.
    This river used to be clear, but now it has become very turbid.
  • 混浊。
    Gōng chǎng pái chū de fèi qì ràng fù jìn de kōng qì yì cháng hùn zhuó.
    The exhaust from the factory makes the nearby air extremely dirty.
  • ，混浊，。
    Bào yǔ guò hòu, chí táng de shuǐ biàn de shí fēn hùn zhuó, kàn bù qīng dǐ bù.
    After the heavy rain, the pond water became very muddy, and you couldn't see the bottom.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

混hùnmixed
浊zhuóturbid

Mixed and turbid combine to describe impurity.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
昆
昆kūn混hùn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

混 pairs 氵 (water) on the left with 昆 on the right, which supplies the sound.

Open 混 →

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 濁; 浊 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
蜀
蜀shǔ濁zhuó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 濁 pairs 氵 (water) with 蜀, which gives the pronunciation; the simplified 浊 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the original part.

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

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