Chinese word

昏

Pronunciation

Pinyinhūn

Meaning

  • verbfaint

Example

他一看到血就昏过去了。tā yí kàn dào xuè jiù hūn guò qù le

He faints as soon as he sees blood.

Illustration for 昏 (faint)

More examples

手术后患者一度昏迷，但很快就苏醒了。shǒu shù hòu huàn zhě yí dù hūn mí dàn hěn kuài jiù sū xǐng le

After surgery, the patient was briefly unconscious but soon regained consciousness.

Core concept

The mind becomes unable to receive or respond to the outside world, as if its light has gone out.

Common phrases

  • 昏倒hūn dào

    faint and fall

  • 昏迷hūn mí

    become unconscious

  • 昏睡hūn shuì

    be in a coma

Similar words

晕yūn: To feel as if the head is spinning, causing unsteadiness and a hazy awareness.
晕倒yūn dǎo: To collapse after suddenly losing consciousness because of dizziness, impact, or shock.
昏迷hūn mí: To be in a serious, deep unconscious state without spontaneous responses.

Definition in Chinese

短时间内丧失知觉，无法对外界作出反应，常见词有“昏倒”“昏过去”“昏迷”，程度可从瞬间晕厥到持续性意识丧失。duǎn shí jiān nèi sàng shī zhī jué wú fǎ duì wài jiè zuò chū fǎn yìng cháng jiàn cí yǒu hūn dào hūn guò qù hūn mí chéng dù kě cóng shùn jiān yūn jué dào chí xù xìng yì shí sàng shī

Word origin

昏 (hūn, "faint") is linked to the older sense of dusk or darkness, making the word's loss of awareness a natural extension from becoming dark to becoming mentally unresponsive.

Usage tips

  • English speakers often connect fainting only with a short event, but this Chinese verb can also describe an ongoing loss of consciousness when the context shows that it lasts.

Other meanings

  • be in a comaverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word