惑
beguile, delusion, perplexity
Readings
On'yomi
- ワク
Kun'yomi
- まど.う
Meaning
惑 centers on a mind caught in confusion: being beguiled, lost in delusion, or tangled in perplexity. It describes a state where clear thinking is disrupted by misleading or uncertain influences.
Most common words using 惑
20 of 105- 迷惑めいわくN3
trouble; bother; annoyance; nuisance; inconvenience
- 惑星わくせいN1
planet
- 疑惑ぎわくN1
doubt; misgivings; distrust; suspicion
- 誘惑ゆうわくN1
temptation; allurement; lure; enticement; seduction
- 困惑こんわくN1
bewilderment; perplexity; embarrassment; discomfiture; bafflement
- 戸惑うとまどうN2
to be bewildered; to be perplexed
- 思惑おもわくN1
expectation; anticipation; prediction; forecast; calculations
- 魅惑みわくN1
fascination; captivation; charm; lure; allurement
- 惑わすまどわすN1
to bewilder; to perplex; to puzzle; to delude; to mislead; to deceive
- 小惑星しょうわくせい
asteroid
- 戸惑いとまどい
being at sea; losing one's bearings; confusion; wonderment
- 惑うまどう
to get lost; to lose one's bearings
- 当惑とうわくN1
bewilderment; perplexity; embarrassment; confusion
- 逃げ惑うにげまどう
to run about frantically trying to escape; to run this way and that to make one's escape
- 幻惑げんわく
fascination; bewitchment; entrancement; dazzlement
- 惑わく
klesha
- 不惑ふわく
past forty; following right course
- 蠱惑こわく
fascination; glamour; glamor; enchantment; seduction
- 惑いまどい
delusion; illusion; infatuation; bewilderment; perplexity
- はた迷惑はためいわく
nuisance to other people; inconvenience to others
Study
Etymology
惑 combines 或 (a phonetic element with a sense of 'or' or 'uncertainty') with 心 (heart/mind), suggesting a mind that cannot decide and is therefore confused or deluded.
Meaning mnemonic
The top 或 looks like a tangle of possibilities (or this, or that), and the bottom 心 is the heart. Picture your heart tangled in a web of 'or's, leaving you beguiled and perplexed.
Reading mnemonic
For ワク, imagine a confused person walking into a room and exclaiming 'Whack!' as they bump into a wall of delusion: whack -> ワク, and the mind is completely perplexed.