瞎 (xiā) · blind, blindly, aimlessly

Meanings

1 blind
2 blindly
3 aimlessly
4 groundlessly

Characters

瞎

xiā

blind; blindly

Examples

HSK 2

别瞎说！

Bié xiāshuō!

Don't talk nonsense!

HSK 2

他一只眼睛瞎了。

Tā yī zhī yǎnjing xiā le.

One of his eyes went blind.

HSK 7-9

你别瞎操心了。

Nǐ bié xiā cāoxīn le.

Stop worrying for nothing.

Tips

usage

瞎 is very commonly used as an adverb meaning "blindly/randomly/without basis": 瞎说 (talk nonsense), 瞎猜 (guess randomly), 瞎忙 (busy for nothing), 瞎搞 (mess around). This colloquial usage is far more common than the literal meaning of "blind".

mistakes

Using 瞎 for "blind" can sound informal or blunt. The more respectful terms are 失明 (lost sight) or 视力障碍 (visual impairment).

Components

radical

目 mù

eye

Eye radical on the left - pictograph of an eye with the pupil drawn vertically. 瞎 means "blind" literally (no light reaching the eye) and idiomatically "in vain, randomly" (acting blindly). The radical is exact. Same eye radical heads 看 look, 眼 eye, 睡 sleep, 盯 stare - the sight family.

phonetic

害 hài

to harm; injure (here phonetic)

Right side 害 supplies the sound: hài drifted to xiā with regular h/x alternation in older Chinese. Carries strong semantic resonance: a 害 (harm, injury) to the eye is exactly what causes 瞎 (blindness). The two readings link in sense as well as sound - 瞎 is harm taking the form of darkness.