惑

Expresses mental confusion or distraction — being led astray in judgment, emotion, or faith. It encompasses both inner delusion (mental bewilderment) and outer deception (being seduced or tempted by external things).

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

心 (마음 심) — semantic component, meaning “heart, mind, feeling,” representing mental and emotional activity.

或 (혹시 혹) — phonetic component, providing the sound hok and the sense of “perhaps” or “uncertainty.”

Together, they express “a heart in uncertainty” — the mind swayed or unsettled, losing clarity and direction.

迷惑 (미혹) — delusion; to be deceived or confused

誘惑 (유혹) — temptation; to lure or entice

惑亂 (혹란) — mental disturbance; confusion

困惑 (곤혹) — embarrassment; being perplexed or puzzled

惑世 (혹세) — to deceive or mislead the world

惑心 (혹심) — a confused or deceived heart

惑情 (혹정) — deluded passion; emotional confusion

惑術 (혹술) — trickery; art of deception

惑罪 (혹죄) — sin of misleading or deceiving

In classical Chinese philosophy, 惑 is one of the central maladies of the human mind — the loss of clarity (明) and the deviation from the Way (道).

「人之所以惑者，以其心不明也。」

“What causes people to be deluded is that their hearts are not illuminated” — Xunzi (荀子), Dispelling Confusion (解蔽篇).

Confucianism sees 惑 as a moral error arising from lack of discernment — a confusion between right and wrong, good and evil.

Daoism interprets it as disturbance of the natural spirit (神), caused by overthinking and attachment.

Buddhism treats 惑 (혹, kleśa in Sanskrit) as one of the fundamental defilements that bind sentient beings to samsara (the cycle of suffering).

The term 煩惱惑 (번뇌혹) — “afflictive delusion” — refers to mental obscurations such as greed, anger, and ignorance.

These are traditionally divided into 三惑 (three delusions):

見惑 (견혹) — delusions arising from false views.

思惑 (사혹) — delusions arising from improper thoughts.

塵沙惑 (진사혹) — delusions as numerous as dust and sand (subtle attachments).

And finally, 無明惑 (무명혹) — the delusion of fundamental ignorance, the root of all suffering.

「惑盡而智生，無明滅而道明。」

“When delusion ends, wisdom arises; when ignorance ceases, the Way becomes clear.”

In Japan, the term 惑 appears in 惑星 (혹성) — literally “a confusing star.”

Astronomers coined this term for planets, because they seemed to “wander” irregularly across the sky, misleading observers.

This poetic naming captures the original sense of 惑 — “to cause perplexity.”

惑 portrays the human heart lost in uncertainty, torn between truth and illusion.

It reminds us that clarity (明) is not only intellectual but moral — a light born of sincerity and calmness of heart.

「定則不惑。」

“When the heart is settled, it is not deceived” — Analects (論語).

To overcome 惑 is to regain the stillness of the mind — where emotion, reason, and spirit become one, and truth once again shines without distortion.