惑 (huò) — (bound form) to confuse, to delude, to mislead; confusion, doubt

Definition

惑 is a literary/bound form meaning 'to confuse, delude' or 'doubt, suspicion'. It mostly appears in compounds like 困惑, 诱惑, and 疑惑 rather than standing alone.

bound form
to confuseto deludeto misleadconfusiondoubt
Easily confused

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè jiàn shì ràng wǒ gǎn dào hěn kùn huò.
    This matter makes me feel very perplexed.
  • 。
    Jīn qián de yòu huò ràng tā zuò le cuò wù de jué dìng.
    The temptation of money made him make the wrong decision.
  • ，。
    Duì yú zhè ge wèn tí, tā xīn lǐ yì zhí yǒu yí huò.
    Regarding this question, he has always had doubts.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
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
Thinking & Cognition

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