混

A phono-semantic compound:

水 (water) — semantic component

昆 (곤) — phonetic component, provides the sound

Originally, the character depicted water in which different elements are stirred together, losing clarity. From this image came abstract meanings such as confusion, disorder, and indiscriminate combination.

혼합 (混合) — mixture; blending

혼동 (混同) — confusion; mixing things up

혼란 (混亂) — disorder; chaos

혼잡 (混雜) — congestion; mixture

혼혈 (混血) — mixed blood; mixed ancestry

혼돈 (混沌) — chaos; primordial confusion

Related characters and comparison:

混 — active mixing; confusion

渾 — turbid, whole, undivided

沌 — thick, obscure, primordial chaos

濁 — muddy; impure

Together they form a semantic field around mixture and disorder, with different nuances.

Compared with 渾 and 沌, 混 emphasizes active mixing, rather than natural turbidity or primordial chaos.

混 often carries a negative nuance when referring to social or moral behavior (e.g. 혼란 (confusion), 혼동 (disarray)).

In contrast, 渾 may carry a neutral or even positive philosophical tone (wholeness).

混沌 (chaos) combines the active mixing of 混 with the primal obscurity of 沌.

In classical texts, 混 often appears in compounds describing chaotic or undifferentiated states, especially when emphasizing intermingling rather than origin.

混 considered the standard form, and it is a graphic equivalent of 掍 (“to mix”), though 掍 is extremely rare.