Chinese phrases
How to say confused in Chinese
Confused in Chinese is 糊涂 (hú tu): 我被你搞糊涂了 means “you’ve got me confused.” In chats, young people also say 我懵了 (wǒ měng le), “I’m lost.”
糊涂
confused; muddled
The second syllable of 糊涂 is light and short: hú tu.
Ways to say confused
糊涂
Everydayconfused; muddled
Confused by something unclear: 我被你搞糊涂了. About a person, it means muddle-headed.
搞不懂
Everydaycan’t figure it out
When something makes no sense to you: 我真搞不懂, “I really don’t get it.”
懵
With friendsdazed; lost
Spoken and online, when too much happens at once: 我懵了. 一脸懵 is a blank face, “totally lost.”
一头雾水
Everydaycompletely confused
Literally “a head full of fog”: you have no idea what is going on. An idiom that people use in speech too.
我晕
With friendsgood grief; I’m lost
Casual, literally “I’m dizzy.” A sigh at something confusing or silly.
困惑
Writtenpuzzled; perplexed
Formal: in articles, reports and talks.
迷茫
Everydaylost (in life)
Confused about your future: what to study, which job to take, where to live.
Common mistakes
我很糊涂 for “I didn’t catch that”
糊涂 can describe a person, so 我很糊涂 sounds like “I’m muddle-headed.” If you missed one sentence, say 我没听懂 or 什么意思？
迷茫 for a hard lesson
迷茫 is about your life and your direction. For a hard grammar point, say 我没搞懂 or 我有点糊涂.
Grammar class
这个语法你听懂了吗？
Qiqi: Did you understand this grammar?
我越听越糊涂。
Leon: The more I listen, the more confused I get.
没事，我再给你讲一遍。
Qiqi: No problem. I’ll explain it again.
