困惑 (kùn huò) — (adjective) confused, bewildered, perplexed; (v… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

困惑 is both adjective ('confused, bewildered') and verb ('to confuse, to perplex'). Similar to 迷惑, but 困惑 emphasizes a longer, unresolved puzzlement, while 困扰 focuses on being troubled/bothered by something.

adjective

confusedbewilderedperplexed

verb

to confuseto perplex

Examples

困惑。
Tā liǎn shàng lù chū kùn huò de biǎo qíng.
A confused expression appeared on his face.
困惑。
Zhè ge mí tí kùn huò le wǒ hǎo jǐ tiān.
This puzzle confused me for several days.
困惑，。
Tā kùn huò dì kàn zhe wǒ, bù zhī dào gāi zěn me bàn.
She looked at me in confusion, not knowing what to do.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

惑huòconfused

困, stuck, and 惑, confused, together mean being bewildered.

Characters in this word

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

囗木困

囗囗wéisurround
木木mùwood

困 is drawn as 木 (wood) enclosed by 囗 (surround). The evidence says this was probably the original form of a word meaning 'doorsill'.

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

或心惑

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

或

或huò惑huò

Same sound today

惑 uses 或 for the sound and 心, the heart, for the meaning.

Appears in

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