迷惑不解 (mí huò bù jiě) — to be puzzled and unable to understand; to be baffled

Definition

An emphatic verb-object phrase meaning 'completely puzzled, unable to make sense of it' — stronger and more literary than the everyday 困惑 or 弄不明白, often used in writing when something is baffling.

verb
to be puzzled and unable to understandto be baffled

Examples

  • 迷惑不解，。
    Tā duì zhè ge jié guǒ mí huò bù jiě, zěn me yě xiǎng bù tōng.
    He was baffled by this result and just couldn't figure it out.
  • ，迷惑不解。
    Tīng le tā de jiě shì, dà jiā fǎn ér mí huò bù jiě le.
    After hearing his explanation, everyone became even more puzzled.
  • ，迷惑不解。
    Miàn duì zhè zhǒng qí guài de xiàn xiàng, kē xué jiā men yě mí huò bù jiě.
    Faced with this strange phenomenon, scientists were also baffled.

Origin

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
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
米
米mǐ迷mí
Same sound today

迷 uses 辵, the walking part, and 米, which gives the sound.

Open 迷 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
或
或huò惑huò
Same sound today

惑 uses 或 for the sound and 心, the heart, for the meaning.

Open 惑 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

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Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

解 shows 刀 (knife) separating 角 (horn) from 牛 (cow), giving the picture of cutting up an ox.

Open 解 →

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