慧 (huì) — (bound morpheme) wisdom; intelligence
Definition
慧 (huì) is a bound morpheme meaning 'wisdom/intelligence,' used in set words like 智慧, 聪慧, 慧眼 — never standing alone. Closer to 'insight' than to learned knowledge (知识).
bound form
(bound morpheme) wisdomintelligence
Easily confused
- 会huìsound-alikecan, be able to (know how to); be likely to, will
- 会huìsound-alikecan; to know how to (a learned skill)
- 汇huìsound-aliketo remit (money)
- 惠huìsound-alike(bound form) kindness, favor, benefit; kind, gracious
- 绘huìsound-aliketo draw, to paint, to depict (often in a formal or technical context)
- 秽huìsound-alikedirty, filthy; vile, ugly (bound morpheme used in literary compounds)
Examples
- ，。Zài jiě jué wèn tí shí, zhì huì bǐ zhī shi gèng zhòng yào.When solving problems, wisdom is more important than knowledge.
- 。Tā shì yí gè cōng huì de hái zi.She is a very intelligent child.
- 。Tā yòng huì yǎn fā xiàn le wèn tí de gēn yuán.He used his insight to discover the root of the problem.
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.
Sound part声符shēngfú
彗
彗huì慧huì
Same sound today
慧 combines 彗, which gives the sound, with 心 (heart), which gives the meaning.
Appears in
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