Chinese word

混浊

Pronunciation

Pinyinhùn zhuó

Meaning

  • adjectivemurky

Example

房间里空气混浊，开窗吧。fáng jiān lǐ kōng qì hùn zhuó kāi chuāng ba

The air in the room is murky, so open the window.

Illustration for 混浊 (murky)

More examples

自来水管道老旧，最近水有点混浊，建议烧开后再喝。zì lái shuí guǎn dào lǎo jiù zuì jìn shuǐ yóu diǎn hùn zhuó jiàn yì shāo kāi hòu zài hē

The water pipes are old, and the tap water has been a little murky lately, so boil it before drinking.

Core concept

A clear substance or line of thought becomes veiled when unwanted material gets in the way.

Common phrases

  • 湖水混浊hú shuǐ hùn zhuó

    murky lake water

  • 饮用水混浊yǐn yòng shuǐ hùn zhuó

    murky drinking water

  • 自来水混浊zì lái shuǐ hùn zhuó

    murky tap water

Similar words

浑浊hún zhuó: Cloudy and not transparent because mud or fine particles are mixed into a liquid or the air.
污浊wū zhuó: Dirty and cloudy because unclean material mixes in, often with a bad smell.

Definition in Chinese

液体或空气中含有杂质或悬浮物，导致不清澈、能见度或通透感降低；也可引申为言语、思路等变得不明晰。yè tǐ huò kōng qì zhōng hán yǒu zá zhì huò xuán fú wù dǎo zhì bù qīng chè néng jiàn dù huò tōng tòu gǎn jiàng dī yě kě yǐn shēn wèi yán yǔ sī lù děng biàn de bù míng xī

Word origin

混 (hùn, "mix") suggests different things becoming mingled, while 浊 (zhuó, "turbid") supplies the result of no longer being clear.

Usage tips

  • Native English speakers may expect this word to describe only physical substances, but it also describes unclear speech, reasoning, and explanations.

Opposites

Word lists with this word