讳 (huì): to avoid mentioning, taboo word, name of deceased emperor or superior
讳 (huì) is a Chinese character meaning “to avoid mentioning.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 讠 (semantic) and 韦 (phonetic). It ranks #2698 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 讳 speech. Its radical form 讠 (speech) appears in many related characters such as 认 (rèn, to recognize, to admit), 记 (jì, to remember, to record), 识 (shí, to know, knowledge).
Definitions
- to avoid mentioning
- taboo word
- name of deceased emperor or superior
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 讳 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 忌讳 | jì huì | taboo |
| 供认不讳 | gòng rèn bù huì | to make a full confession |
| 直言不讳 | zhí yán bù huì | to speak bluntly (idiom) |
| 避讳 | bì huì | to avoid a taboo (usu. on the given names of emperors or one's elders) |
| 讳莫如深 | huì mò rú shēn | (idiom) to steadfastly refuse to discuss the matter |
| 隐讳 | yǐn huì | to hold back from saying precisely what is on one's mind |
| 直言无讳 | zhí yán wú huì | to speak one's mind |
| 不讳 | bù huì | without concealing anything |
| 隐讳号 | yǐn huì hào | cross symbol (×), used to replace a character one does not wish to display |
| 讳名 | huì míng | taboo name |
| 名讳 | míng huì | taboo name (e.g. of emperor) |
| 讳疾忌医 | huì jí jì yī | hiding a sickness for fear of treatment (idiom) |
| 讳称 | huì chēng | euphemism |
| 犯讳 | fàn huì | to use the tabooed name 名諱|名讳[ming2 hui4] of hierarchical superiors (old) |
讳 appears in 14 compound words: 29 as the first character, 64 as the last, and 7 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 讳 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
to avoid seeking medical attention for fear of disease; to conceal one's shortcomings for fear of criticism
to closely guard a secret and not utter a single word about it; to not breathe a word
to call a spade a spade; to speak without reservation; not to mince one's words
to avoid seeking medical attention for fear of disease; to conceal one's shortcomings for fear of criticism
to closely guard a secret and not utter a single word about it; to not breathe a word
to call a spade a spade; to speak without reservation; not to mince one's words
Example Sentences
讳语是交流思想的重要工具。
huì yǔ shì jiāo liú sī xiǎng de chóng yāo gōng jù .
Euphemisms are an important tool for communicating ideas.
...神秘人贩子“梅姨”落网 对贩卖儿童供认不讳
. . . shén mì rén fàn zǐ méi yí luò wǎng duì fàn mài ér tóng gōng rèn bù huì
...Mysterious human trafficker "Aunt Mei" arrested; she has confessed to child trafficking
公众终于对关于空气污染的意见直言不讳了。
Gōngzhòng zhōngyú duì guānyú kōngqìwūrǎn de yìjiàn zhíyánbùhuì le.
Public feeling against air pollution has at last become vocal.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 讳 (huì) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 讳 and 围?
How many strokes does 讳 have?
What is the radical of 讳?
What are the components of 讳?
What are common words containing 讳?
What characters sound the same as 讳 (huì)?
Is 讳 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 讳 with real-time feedback
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