How to Write 秽 (huì) — Meaning “dirty; filthy; obscene”

Picture a field of grain (禾) that has not been harvested for a whole year (岁). The grain has rotted and become dirty and smelly, so you say "hui – that's filthy!" This visual of neglected crops turning into filth makes the meaning stick.

When writing 秽, make sure the left radical 禾 is narrow and sits slightly higher, while the right part 岁 is wider. The top of 岁 is 山 (three strokes), not 止, and the bottom is 夕 (two strokes). A common mistake is to confuse the right side with 歹 or to make the left and right sides equal in width.

All three characters share the radical 禾, but their right sides differ: 秋 has 火 (fire), 种 has 中 (middle), and 秽 has 岁 (year). The meanings are also unrelated: 秋 means autumn, 种 means kind or to plant, while 秽 means dirty or filthy. Visually, the right part of 秽 has the tall 山 and the curved 夕, making it distinct.

秽 appears mainly in formal or literary contexts, such as 污秽 (filthy) and 秽气 (foul smell). It is also used in Buddhist terms like 秽土 (impure land) as the opposite of 净土 (pure land). Because it is not in the HSK vocabulary, learners will encounter it more in classical texts or religious writings than in daily conversation.

Common words containing 秽 include: 污秽 (wū huì) — Filthy / Impure; 秽气 (huì qì) — foul air; stench; 秽土 (huì tǔ) — dirty soil; impure land.