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 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
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 讠 (speech) component
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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