精神恍惚

jīngshénhuǎnghū
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 jīng shén huǎng hū.
Nights of staying up have left him dazed and distracted.
Tīngdào xiāoxi hòu, tā zhěng tiān jīng shén huǎng hū.
After hearing the news, she was in a daze all day.
Kāichē shí jīng shén huǎng hū 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