聩 (kuì): deaf

Meanings

1 deaf
2 muddle-headed
3 unable to understand

Characters

聩

kuì

deaf; muddle-headed

Examples

良师能振聋发聩。

Liáng shī néng zhènlóngfākuì.

A good teacher can wake the deaf and enlighten the muddled.

他的尖锐言论振聋发聩。

Tā de jiānruì yánlùn zhènlóngfākuì.

His sharp words shook the muddled and complacent.

Tips

usage

The character lives almost entirely in 振聋发聩 — words or events so striking they 'rouse the deaf and wake the dim'. 聩 literally means deaf, figuratively means too dull to grasp anything.

Components

radical

耳 ěr

ear

Left-side ear radical 耳. Deafness is an ear matter, so the ear carries the core meaning, as it does in 聋 and 聪.

phonetic

贵 guì

expensive; (here) sound

Right side 贵 supplies the sound (kuì shifted from guì); its 'expensive' meaning has no part here.

Stroke Order

聩 kuì

Related Words

振聋发聩 zhènlóng-fākuì #65,587

so loud that even the deaf can hear / (fig.) to awaken the ignorant; profoundly eye-opening

忍不住 rěnbuzhù HSK 5 #4,573

cannot help (doing something) / unable to bear; unable to hold back

清醒 qīngxǐng HSK 4 #2,064

clear-headed; sober; awake / to become clear-headed; to come to one's senses

看不到 kànbudào #4,211

cannot see / unable to see

无能为力 wúnéng-wéilì HSK 7-9 #3,651

powerless to do anything; helpless / unable to help

懂得 dǒngde HSK 2 #3,384

to understand / to know

理智 lǐzhì HSK 6 #3,267

rational; reasonable; level-headed / reason; rationality; sense

没法 méifǎ #2,619

unable to / can't / there's no way to

解 jiě HSK 6 #2,055

to untie; to undo; to loosen / to solve; to resolve / to explain; to interpret / to dissolve; to melt; to break apart / to understand; to comprehend

难以 nányǐ HSK 5 #2,022

hard to; difficult to / unable to easily (do something)