About
The character "呓" is the simplified form of traditional "囈", which combines the "口" (mouth) radical with the phonetic component "藝" (yì), later reduced to "乂" in the simplified version. Etymologically, it originally denoted the act of talking in one's sleep, as seen in historical usage, but over time its meaning expanded to cover any incoherent or delirious speech, whether from sleep, illness, or madness. The structure consistently centers on the mouth radical to emphasize vocal expression, while the phonetic element was graphically simplified.