糊

䊀/餬
hú, hū, hù
米 + 胡
HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

hù (noun) paste; glue
hú (adjective) muddled; confused
hú (verb) to make a living
hú (verb) to get burned (of food)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 米 represents the meaning and 胡 represents the sound.

Semantic: 米 Phonetic: 胡

About

糊 is a phono-semantic compound composed of the semantic radical 米 (rice) and the phonetic component 胡. The rice radical signals the original meaning: a thick paste, gruel, or porridge made by boiling rice or other grains until they form a sticky, viscous consistency. From this literal adhesive, the character developed extended meanings of pasting, gluing, or sticking things together. Furthermore, the cloudy and opaque nature of such paste gave rise to metaphorical meanings that describe something muddled, blurred, confused, or indistinct; these are often used for unclear vision, poorly defined situations, or a thoroughly confused state of mind.

Example Sentences Hide

他今天很糊涂。

Tā jīntiān hěn hútu.

He is very confused today.

这碗粥煮糊了。

Zhè wǎn zhōu zhǔ hú le.

This bowl of porridge is burnt.

照片看起来有点模糊。

Zhàopiàn kàn qǐlái yǒudiǎn móhu.

The photo looks a bit blurry.

他把墙糊上了报纸。

Tā bǎ qiáng hú shàngle bàozhǐ.

He pasted newspaper onto the wall.

他勉强糊口，生活艰辛。

Tā miǎnqiǎng húkǒu, shēnghuó jiānxīn.

He barely makes a living, and life is tough.

别用这种借口来糊弄我。

Bié yòng zhè zhǒng jièkǒu lái hùnong wǒ.

Don't use that kind of excuse to fool me.

艺术家正在仔细地裱糊这幅画。

Yìshùjiā zhèngzài zǐxì de biǎohú zhè fú huà.

The artist is carefully mounting this painting.

复杂的行政程序常使人陷入文牍主义的糊涂账里。

Fùzá de xíngzhèng chéngxù cháng shǐ rén xiànrù wéndú zhǔyì de hútuzhàng lǐ.

Complex administrative procedures often mire people in the confusing mess of bureaucratism.

Related Characters

Component: 米

类 断 精 料 米 继 奥 迷 粮 粗 粉 粒 粹 糖

Component: 胡

湖 蝴 瑚 葫 鹕 猢 煳 醐 餬 媩 衚 鬍 鶘 鶦

Example Words

一塌糊涂 模糊 糊涂 含糊 模糊不清 浆糊 稀里糊涂 糊弄 糊糊 糊里糊涂 迷糊 迷迷糊糊 面糊 含含糊糊 含糊不清 含糊其词 晕糊 烂糊 糊口 糊涂账 糊墙 糊精 糊糊涂涂 糢糊