浊 (zhuó) — (of liquids, air) turbid, muddy, impure; (of voice) deep, thick, husky; (of society or politics) chaotic, corrupt, foul

Definition

Literary adjective for 'muddy, impure' — used for water, voice, or society. Most common in writing; pairs with 浊重 for a husky voice and 浊世 for a corrupt era.

adjective
(of liquids, air) turbidmuddyimpure(of voice) deepthickhusky(of society or politics) chaoticcorruptfoul
Easily confused

Examples

  • 浊，。
    Hé shuǐ hěn zhuó, kàn bù qīng dǐ xià de shí tou.
    The river water is very muddy; you can't see the stones at the bottom clearly.
  • ，浊。
    Tā gǎn mào le, shēng yīn biàn de hěn zhuó zhòng.
    He caught a cold, and his voice became very deep and husky.
  • 浊，。
    Zài nà ge zhuó shì, bǎi xìng de shēng huó fēi cháng jiān nán.
    In that corrupt era, the lives of ordinary people were very hard.

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.

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.

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