灰 huī ashes
ash; ashes; dust; gray; discouraged
How it came to be
会意 · Meaning + meaning
Two or more parts whose meanings together make the new meaning.
The oldest form shows a hand above a fire: fire you can touch, which is ash.
How it is used
- Concrete noun for ash or dust, and the adjective for the color gray: 灰色 huīsè (gray), 灰尘 huīchén (dust on furniture/surfaces).
- 灰心 huīxīn, literally "ashes of the heart", means to lose heart or become discouraged: 别灰心 (Bié huīxīn), "Don't get discouraged," a common comforting phrase.
- 灰色 is also used figuratively for morally ambiguous "gray areas," e.g. 灰色地带 huīsè dìdài.