秽

Tap the pinyin to hear it

(bound form) dirty; filthy

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

禾 meaning “grain” + 岁 sound ( suì )

Components 禾岁

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
污言秽语	wū yán huì yǔ	(idiom) filthy speech; obscenities
淫词秽语	yín cí huì yǔ	(idiom) obscene words; dirty talk
秽水	huì shuǐ	dirty water; polluted water; sewage
秽语	huì yǔ	obscene language
自惭形秽	zì cán xíng huì	(idiom) to feel inferior; to feel inadequate
污秽	wū huì	(literary) dirty; filthy; (literary) dirt; filth
淫秽	yín huì	obscene; indecent; bawdy
芜秽	wú huì	to be overgrown with weeds

Characters sharing the sound component 岁 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
岁 sound part	suì	year; years old, age; harvest
哕	yuě	to belch; to vomit
刿	guì	to cut, to injure, to stab; to stick on