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一頭霧水

简一头雾水 · 繁一頭霧水

Mandarin · pinyin yī tóu wù shuǐ

to be confused
to be baffled

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
霧: Look up this written character
水: shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
雾: wù · fog, mist, vapor, fine spray

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–3 · yi1 tou2 wu4 shui3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

一頭霧水 · find source passages ↗ · 一头雾水 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 tau4 mou6 seoi2

Cantonese word readings for 一頭霧水. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to be completely muddle-headed; to be baffled

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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