精神恍惚

jīngshén-huǎnghū
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 absent-minded; in a daze
  2. 2 distracted and unsettled in mind
  3. 3 (of one's mental state) hazy and unfocused

Examples

Liánxù áoyè ràng tā jīngshénhuǎnghū.
Nights of staying up have left him dazed and distracted.
Tīngdào xiāoxi hòu, tā zhěngtiān jīngshénhuǎnghū.
After hearing the news, she was in a daze all day.
Kāichē shí jīngshénhuǎnghū fēicháng wéixiǎn.
Driving while mentally foggy is extremely dangerous.

Tips

history
Attested in Song Yu's Warring States-era 《》: '精神有所' — 'my spirit in a haze, as though transported'. Originally described the dreamlike trance of an encounter with a goddess; modernized to plain mental fog.
usage
Medical and everyday both. Used for exhaustion, grief, shock, illness, or aftermath of bad news. Neutral-to-concerned tone — the speaker notices the person isn't themselves.

Stroke Order

jīng
shén
huǎng