混 (hùn) — (verb) to mix, to mingle; (verb) to drift along, to muddle through, to get by; (adverb) recklessly, thoughtlessly, indiscriminately
Definition
混 (hùn) covers two distinct uses: as a verb, 'to mix' or 'to muddle through' (often with no real progress); as an adverb, it means 'recklessly/randomly' — similar to 乱 but 混 emphasizes acting without thinking or care, like 混说 'talking nonsense'.
verb
to mixto mingleto drift alongto muddle throughto get by
adverb
recklesslythoughtlesslyindiscriminately
Easily confused
Examples
- 混。Bú yào bǎ zhè liǎng zhǒng yán sè hùn zài yì qǐ.Don't mix these two colors together.
- 混，。Tā zài nà jiā gōng sī hùn le wǔ nián, shén me dōu méi xué dào.He muddled along at that company for five years and learned nothing.
- 混，。Tā shàng kè shí zǒng shì hùn shuō, bèi lǎo shī pī píng le.He always talks recklessly in class and was criticized by the teacher.
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.
混 pairs 氵 (water) on the left with 昆 on the right, which supplies the sound.
Appears in
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