混迹 (hùn jì) — to infiltrate (a group or place) by deceit or trickery; to live in seclusion; to keep to oneself

Definition

A literary/figurative verb meaning to 'mingle in' or 'move among' a group — often with the implication of deception (concealing one's true identity to infiltrate, e.g. 上流社会), but also used for a reclusive life in nature (e.g. 山林).

verb
to infiltrate (a group or place) by deceit or trickeryto live in seclusionto keep to oneself

Examples

  • 混迹，。
    Tā hùn jì yú gè zhǒng shè jiāo chǎng hé, piàn qǔ tā rén xìn rèn.
    He infiltrated various social occasions, deceiving people into trusting him.
  • 混迹，。
    Nà ge piàn zi hùn jì yú shàng liú shè huì, piàn le bù shǎo rén.
    That swindler infiltrated high society and cheated many people.
  • ，混迹。
    Tā yàn juàn le chéng shì shēng huó, xuǎn zé hùn jì shān lín.
    He tired of city life and chose to live in the mountains.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

混hùnmingle
迹jìtraces

The mingling sense of 混 and the traces sense of 迹 together give infiltrate or live aloof.

Characters in this word

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
昆
昆kūn混hùn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

混 pairs 氵 (water) on the left with 昆 on the right, which supplies the sound.

Open 混 →

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
辶Written in full as辵chuòmove
Sound part声符shēngfú
朿
朿cì迹jì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

迹 pairs 辶, a movement part, with 亦, a sound part; an older form used 朿.

Open 迹 →

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