# Pronunciation: 混



## yuechu

Hello/大家好，

I'm reading an article on 天涯 and had a question about the pronunciation of 混 in the following sentence:

"当初在国内的时候中文就不好，不知道自己怎么被漏到中文专业的。稀里糊涂*混*了四年，出来根本就没有用它吃饭。"

混 - Would this be pronounced hun4 here? (I think 混 is always pronounced hun4 when used as an independent verb, right?)
Also, does the end of the sentence refer to the woman not being able to use her major to find a job in a related field/make money?

Thanks in advance!


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## xiaolijie

Yes, 混 here should be hun4. And yes, she said she didn't use her major to earn a living.


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## yuechu

Thanks, xiaolijie!!


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## mayingdts

baosheng said:


> 混 is always pronounced hun4 when used as an independent verb, right?



no.
1.混(hun3)=to mix. Such as 混淆，混合
2.混(hun4)=....(sorry, dont know how to explain). such as 混社会，混生活，混日子，混世魔王。



baosheng said:


> does the end of the sentence refer to the woman not being able to use her major to find a job in a related field/make money?



no. She didnt say she wasnt able to find a job using her major. She just said that she didnt use her major to make money. we dont know whether she was able to find a job using her major


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## yuechu

Thanks for your reply, mayingdts!
One of my dictionaries gives: 混淆，混合 as hun4xiao2, hun4he2. Would these pronunciations also be correct/common? (or is it one of those cases where the dictionary gives one pronunciation but people usually use a different one?)


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## mayingdts

I dont know la. But dictionnaires should be right, I guess.
However, I do pronounce 混淆 as hun3xiao2 ( as 混淆视听 ) and 混合(verb) as hun3he2 . But 混合物(noun) is definite *hun4*he2wu4.


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## 275375327

mayingdts said:


> However, I do pronounce 混淆 as hun3xiao2 ( as 混淆视听 ) and 混合(verb) as hun3he2 . But 混合物(noun) is definite *hun4*he2wu4.


hun did not have  hun3   混淆视听 混hun 4    混蛋 hun2


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## xiaolijie

> 混淆视听


 真的!


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## Miyazakehime

mayingdts said:


> no.
> 1.混(hun3)=to mix. Such as 混淆，混合
> 2.混(hun4)=....(sorry, dont know how to explain). such as 混社会，混生活，混日子，混世魔王。


We use hun4 more often,check out this explanation from 汉典

*基本字义*● *混*
hùn   ㄏㄨㄣˋ
　1. 搀杂在一起：～杂。～和。～同。～淆。～为一谈。
　2. 乱，胡乱：～乱。～世魔王。
　3. 蒙，充：蒙～。～充。～进。鱼目～珠。
　4. 苟且度过：胡～。～事。
*其它字义*
● *混*
hún   ㄏㄨㄣˊ
　◎ 同“浑”。


> no. She didnt say she wasnt able to find a job using her major. She just said that she didnt use her major to make money. we dont know whether she was able to find a job using her major


In addition,as for that gril,there's no difference between "unable" and "didn't" according to the context.


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## Youngfun

In popular speech especially in the North, it's very common to pronounce it hun3 as in 混淆, but the standard pronunciation is hun4.
About hun2, I can't think of other examples besides 混蛋 

EDIT:
I've just thought of another example with hun2: 馄饨。


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## xiaolijie

> I've just thought of another example with hun2: 馄饨。



"馄" 不是 "混" 啊！


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## mayingdts

混浊，混天绫，混混噩噩 are all hun2


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## schur

mayingdts said:


> 混浊，混天绫，混混噩噩 are all hun2



个人用「浑浑噩噩」比较多


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## Youngfun

Miyazakehime said:


> ● *混*
> hún   ㄏㄨㄣˊ
> ◎ 同“浑”。


凡是读 hún 的时候，都可以用“浑”代替吗？


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## yuechu

I hope Jack12345 doesn't mind if I ask about a sentence he posted in another thread.

"古汉语渡度*混*用，现在一般是分开用。"
How do you pronounce 混 here?

Thanks!


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## zhg

hun4, (Admittedly I personally sometimes do say hun3, however according to the dictionary only hun4 is accepted as standard)


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## yuechu

Thanks, zhg! Is hǔn a regional pronunciation mostly in 北京？or is the pronunciation hǔn for 混 common throughout China?


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## zhg

Very interesting question, honestly I don't know if this is a regional thing.  I hope that I did not mislead you by giving you the impression of saying hun3 is also acceptable. Actually it's not, and in the standard ”Mandarin" 混 pronounce as hun3 doesn't exist, no matter what I speak or other people in other regions speak.


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## yuechu

OK! There are many words like this in Mandarin (where people commonly use one pronunciation and the dictionary prescribes another).
Thanks for your help, zhg!


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## SuperXW

I also tend to pronounce hun3, although it may be incorrect.
I think in this way, it would be easier to distinguish the meaning "to confuse, to mix up" from other meanings.


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## yuechu

OK! Thanks, SuperXW!


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## Jack12345

yuechu said:


> *混*用


混, hun4, 在这里有掺杂在一起，分不清楚的意思。混用，就是两个字相互替换，没有区分。
混, hun2, 就是水不清。如，混浑。这个音还有糊涂的意思。如，混混噩噩，混混沌沌，混话...

这个字有些地方是把hun4读hun3的。属于地方习惯不同，也可能是受方言影响。这种情况在各地其实比较常见。


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## yuechu

OK! Thanks for your explanation, Jack12345!


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