(huǎng) - suddenly & as if

Tone 3

huǎng | 9 strokes | radical:

· huǎng

suddenly;

as if;

absent-minded;

seemingly;

in a flash

suddenlyas ifabsent-minded

Usage highlights

suddenly realizeabsentseeminglyas ifin a dazesuddenly understand

Synonyms

  • absent-minded; confused
  • vague; indistinct
  • 惚恍vague; indistinct

Antonyms

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • He suddenly realized his mistake (恍然大悟).
  • She seemed to be in a daze (神情恍惚).
  • It feels like a dream (恍如梦境).
  • He looked as if he had seen a ghost (恍若见鬼).

Collocations

  • suddenly realize(恍然大悟)
  • absent-minded(恍惚)
  • seemingly(恍如)
  • as if(恍若)
  • in a daze(神情恍惚)
  • suddenly understand(恍然明白)

Idioms

  • Suddenly see the light(恍然大悟)
  • As if in a dream(恍如梦境)
  • Mentally absent(神思恍惚)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Often used in Buddhist and Daoist contexts to describe sudden enlightenment or altered states of consciousness.
  • Commonly appears in classical Chinese literature to depict dream-like states or sudden realizations.
  • The character combines the heart/mind radical (忄) with the phonetic component 光 (light), suggesting a sudden illumination of the mind.

FAQ