Chinese

模糊

/mu̯ɔ³⁵ xu³/
blurry; vague; obscure; fuzzy
  • HSK 5
  • TOCFL 6
  • 蠻糊
  • 蛮糊

Etymology graph

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Origin

Etymology unclear. A literal derivation is unlikely. First attested in the Tang dynasty. If not a loanword from an Altaic language, it is likely that this is a disyllabic derivative of the Old Chinese root *m̥aŋ/m̥oŋ/m̥ɯŋ ("unclear, confused"), which had numerous descendants, for example 盲 (máng, “to be blind”), 茫 (máng, “boundless and indistinct”), 蒙 (méng, “darkness”), 夢／梦 (mèng, “dream”), 昏 (hūn, “dim, confused”). Compare 馬虎／马虎 (mǎhu, “careless”), 麻胡 (máhú, “a mythical ferocious character”), 瑪呼／玛呼 (mǎhū, “(to put on) a mask”), 糊塗／糊涂 (hútu, “confused, obfuscated”).

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

  • characterChinese模 “model; standard; example”
    • meaningChinese木 “tree; woody plant”
    • soundChinese莫 “none; nothing; not anything”
  • characterChinese糊 “congee; rice gruel; porridge”
    • meaningChinese米 “hulled or husked uncooked rice (Classifier: 粒 m c mn; 顆／颗 m)”
    • soundChinese胡 “wattle; dewlap (fleshy lobe hanging from the head or neck of animals)”
      • soundChinese古 “the past; ancient times”
      • meaningChinese肉 “meat; flesh”

Sources