惚

Core sense is one of mental vacancy, disorientation, or blurred consciousness. This includes general absent-mindedness and dazedness. In Daoist or Buddhist contexts, it may describe an altered state of consciousness, a trance, or the blurring of boundaries between the self and environment (ethereal vacancy).

Functions as a stative verb or adjective describing the condition of the subject; generally non-transitive.

Contrast with 惑: whereas 惑 implies intellectual confusion or being misled by error, 惚 describes a psychological or spiritual state of "drifting." Contrast with 恍: while often paired in the compound 恍惚, when used separately, 恍 typically denotes a sudden startle or momentary displacement, whereas 惚 suggests a more lingering state of being mentally obscured.

Related to 忽 (meaning suddenness or void). Phonetic trajectory is supported by the Fanqie reading 呼骨 and the Tang-period reading xuət.