TongTong
Sign in

觉醒 (jué xǐng) — to awaken, to become aware (of a truth or reality)

Definition

觉醒 (juéxǐng) is 'to awaken' in a figurative, ideological sense — people, societies, or consciousness becoming aware of a truth. 醒 is the everyday 'wake up' (from sleep); 醒悟 is 'realize the truth' after being mistaken.

verb
to awakento become aware (of a truth or reality)

Examples

  • 觉醒。
    Tā jīng guò zhè cì jiào xùn zhōng yú jué xǐng le.
    After this lesson, he finally woke up.
  • 觉醒。
    Shè huì de jué xǐng bú shì yì tiān néng wán chéng de.
    The awakening of a society cannot be completed in a single day.
  • 觉醒。
    Mín zhòng de jué xǐng tuī dòng le gǎi gé de jìn chéng.
    The awakening of the public pushed forward the process of reform.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

觉juéawaken
醒xǐngawake

觉 and 醒 both mean waking or becoming aware, together expressing an awakening to reality.

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 覺; 觉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
𦥯
𦥯𦥯覺jué
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 覺 pairs 見, a part that means see, with 𦥯, a part that gives the sound; simplified 觉 is a later abbreviation.

Open 觉 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Thinking & Cognition

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