啞

The core meaning is the failure of the voice, which generally falls into three categories:

1. Permanent/Congenital: Muteness or an inability to speak (often paired with 盲).

2. Physiological/Temporary: Hoarseness or loss of voice due to illness, exhaustion, or strain.

3. Situational/Psychological: Being "struck dumb" by shock, terror, or total refutation.

Functions primarily as a stative verb or an adjective (e.g., "to be mute," "to become hoarse"). Caution is advised against automatic nominalization ("a mute") unless the syntax explicitly supports it.

Contrast with other forms of silence:

• 默 (mò): Silence as a choice or a disciplined act of will.
• 緘 (jiān): A deliberate withholding of information (sealing the lips).
• 噤 (jìn): Being silenced by external force, fear, or command. While 啞 can be the result of terror, 噤 is the act of shutting up.

The Tang-period reading was qà; the modern reading is yǎ. Semantic variant: U+7602; simplified variant: 哑 (U+54D1).