秽

穢

huì

岁 + 禾

Definitions

huì (bound form) dirty; filthy

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 禾 represents the meaning and 岁 represents the sound. Simplified form of 穢.

Semantic: 禾 Phonetic: 岁

About

秽 is a phono-semantic compound and the simplified form of 穢. The radical 禾 "grain" on the left indicates an agricultural context, while the right component 岁 (simplified from 歲) provides the sound. It originally referred to unwanted weeds sprouting aggressively among cultivated grain, causing damage. Because weeds ruin a crop's purity, the meaning expanded to describe anything physically dirty or filthy. This sense of impurity later extended into the moral realm, denoting obscene language, corrupt conduct, and socially unacceptable behavior.

Etymology Hide

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这个地方很污秽。

zhè ge dì fāng hěn wū huì.

This place is very filthy.

他清除了地上的秽物。

tā qīng chú le dì shàng de huì wù.

He cleaned up the filth on the ground.

房间里的秽气让人难受。

fáng jiān lǐ de huì qì ràng rén nán shòu.

The foul smell in the room makes people uncomfortable.

我们必须处理这些污秽的东西。

wǒ men bì xū chǔ lǐ zhè xiē wū huì de dōng xi.

We must deal with these filthy things.

看到这么污秽的环境，他皱起了眉头。

kàn dào zhè me wū huì de huán jìng, tā zhòu qǐ le méi tóu.

Seeing such a filthy environment, he frowned.

她抱怨说，这里的秽物太多了。

tā bào yuàn shuō, zhè lǐ de huì wù tài duō le.

She complained that there was too much filth here.

他的言语中充满了秽语，令人不悦。

tā de yán yǔ zhōng chōng mǎn le huì yǔ, lìng rén bù yuè.

His speech is full of obscene language, which is unpleasant.

尽管努力清洁，角落仍残留着些许秽迹。

jǐn guǎn nǔ lì qīng jié, jiǎo luò réng cán liú zhe xiē xǔ huì jì.

Despite efforts to clean, some filth marks still remain in the corners.

Related Characters

Component: 岁

Component: 禾

秽