Definition
荤 (hūn) refers broadly to non-vegetarian food — meat, fish, and also pungent vegetables like garlic and onions that are avoided in Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. In everyday Chinese, 荤 is most often used to mean 'meat dishes with meat (as opposed to 素 'vegetarian'), and you'll see it in expressions like 吃荤 (eat meat) and 荤菜 (meat dish). Be careful that 荤 does not simply mean 'meat' in the Western sense; it includes fish and certain vegetables in its religious definition.
noun
non-vegetarian food (meat, fish, or pungent vegetables like garlic and onion)(in Buddhist context) any food considered 'unclean' for a vegetarian dietincluding meat and strong-smelling plants
Easily confused
- 晕yūnlook-alike(adjective) dizzy, giddy, confused
- 混hùnsound-alike(verb) to mix, to mingle
- 挥huīlook-aliketo wave, to brandish
- 昏hūnsound-aliketo faint, to lose consciousness
Examples
- ，。Tā píngshí zhǐ chī sù, hěn shǎo chī hūn.He usually only eats vegetarian; he rarely eats meat.
- 荤。Fójiàotú bù chī cōngsuàn děng hūnxīng shíwù.Buddhists avoid pungent foods like onions and garlic, as well as meat and fish.
- 荤，。Zhè jiā cāntīng yǒu hūn yǒu sù, xuǎnzé hěn duō.This restaurant has both meat and vegetarian dishes — lots of choices.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.