恍然大悟 (huǎngrándàwù) · to suddenly realize

恍然大悟 (huǎngrándàwù) means “to suddenly realize; to see the light”. It is written with 4 characters: 恍 (absent-minded) + 然 (certainly) + 大 (big) + 悟 (to apprehend). It is an old HSK 6 word (HSK 2.0).

How 恍然大悟 is built

The characters

恍 huǎng · absent-minded

What 恍 is made of

忄xīn — heart
- 八bā — eight
- 丨 — vertical stroke
光guāng — light
- ⺌ — structural part
- 兀wù — weak
  - 一 — horizontal stroke
  - 儿ér — child

然 rán · certainly

What 然 is made of

肰rán — dog meat
- ⺼ — meat
- 犬quǎn — dog
  - 大dà — big
  - 丶 — dot
灬huǒ — fire

Origin hint: 灬 gives the meaning, 肰 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

大 dà · big

What 大 is made of

一 — horizontal stroke
人rén — person

Origin hint: A man 人 with outstretched arms (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

悟 wù · to apprehend

What 悟 is made of

忄xīn — heart
- 八bā — eight
- 丨 — vertical stroke
吾wú — I
- 五wǔ — five
  - 二 — two strokes
- 口kǒu — mouth
  - 冂 — frame
  - 一 — horizontal stroke

Example sentences

听了老师的解释，我恍然大悟。Tīng le lǎoshī de jiěshì, wǒ huǎngrándàwù.After the teacher's explanation, it suddenly clicked for me.

他想了很久，终于恍然大悟。Tā xiǎng le hěnjiǔ, zhōngyú huǎngrándàwù.He thought for a long time and finally understood.

Questions about 恍然大悟

What does 恍然大悟 mean?

恍然大悟 (huǎngrándàwù) means “to suddenly realize; to see the light”.

How do you pronounce 恍然大悟?

恍然大悟 is pronounced huǎngrándàwù.

Which HSK level is 恍然大悟?

恍然大悟 is in Old HSK 6.

Related words

Learn 恍然大悟 with its group

It is part of Old HSK 6 · Group 81: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.

Open the group