mute, dumb
唖 centers on the inability to speak: being mute or dumb. It describes a condition where a person cannot produce speech.
唖 combines 口 (mouth) with 亜, which likely contributes the sound and may relate to the idea of obstruction or being secondary, suggesting a mouth that cannot speak.
The left side is a mouth 口, and the right side 亜 looks like a blocked or obstructed passage. Picture a mouth with something blocking it, making the person mute.
For ア, imagine a person who is mute trying to say 'ah' but no sound comes out: the silent 'ah' cues ア.
dumbfounded; speechless; flabbergasted; struck dumb with astonishment
muteness; speech impairment
deafness
caw (of a crow, etc.)
(a) mute; mute person
voiceless cicada (female); Asian cicada
blind and dumb
school for the blind and dumb
school for people unable to hear and speak