迷

The Chinese character 迷 (mí) for "lost" or "bewildered" is composed of two parts: the radical ⻏ (mí), which means "sheep", and the phonetic component 羍 (mí). The radical ⻏ is a pictograph of a sheep, and it is used in many other characters related to sheep, such as 羊 (yáng) for "sheep", 羔 (gāo) for "lamb", and 羯 (jié) for "castrated ram". The phonetic component 羍 is a phonetic loan character, and it is used in many other characters with the same pronunciation, such as 谜 (mí) for "riddle" and 靡 (mí) for "luxuriant".The character 迷 originally meant "to lose one's way", and it was often used in a literal sense. However, over time, it has also come to be used in a more figurative sense, to mean "to be confused" or "to be bewildered". For example, the phrase 迷失方向 (míshī fāngxiàng) means "to lose one's way", while the phrase 迷失自我 (míshī zìwǒ) means "to lose oneself".The character 迷 is a common character, and it is used in a wide variety of contexts. It is a useful character to know for HSK learners, as it can be used to express a variety of different ideas and concepts.