Meaning of 觉悟
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to come to understand
- to realize
- consciousness
- awareness
- Buddhist enlightenment (Sanskrit: cittotpāda)
How to use 觉悟
As a verb, 觉悟 means to wake up to a truth, often after a mistake or a long time. As a noun, it is often used for moral or political awareness, as in 思想觉悟 (sīxiǎng juéwù, ideological awareness), and in Buddhism it means enlightenment. Example: 他终于觉悟了。(Tā zhōngyú juéwù le.) He finally came to his senses.
觉 (jué) means to sense or become aware, and 悟 (wù) has the heart radical 忄 beside 吾 (wú, I, me), so picture your own heart finally getting it. Sensing plus understanding in your heart gives 觉悟, a deep realization or awareness.
Common mistake: Learners often read 觉 here as jiào, as in 睡觉 (shuìjiào), but in 觉悟 it is always jué. Also, 觉悟 is formal and weighty, so do not use it for small everyday realizations where 发现 (fāxiàn) or 意识到 (yìshi dào) fits better.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
觉 jiào · a nap · 9 strokes
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悟 wù · to apprehend · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 觉悟.
| 觉得 | juéde | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 睡觉 | shuìjiào | to go to bed; to sleep |
| 感觉 | gǎnjué | feeling; impression; sensation; to feel; to perceive |
| 自觉 | zìjué | to realize; to be aware of; to feel that; to be conscious of (sth relating to oneself); re |
| 发觉 | fājué | to become aware; to detect |
| 直觉 | zhíjué | intuition |
| 幻觉 | huànjué | illusion; hallucination |
| 察觉 | chájué | to sense; to perceive |
| 视觉 | shìjué | sight; vision |
| 觉醒 | juéxǐng | to awaken; to come to realize |
| 不知不觉 | bùzhī-bùjué | (idiom) unconsciously; unwittingly |
| 知觉 | zhījué | perception; consciousness |
Questions about 觉悟
What does 觉悟 mean?
觉悟 (juéwù) means "to come to understand; to realize" and is used as a verb and noun.
How do you write 觉悟?
觉悟 is made of 2 characters: 觉 (9 strokes), 悟 (10 strokes). That is 19 strokes in total.
Is 觉悟 an HSK word?
Yes. 觉悟 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 觉悟 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 觉悟 is written 覺悟.
What is the difference between 觉悟 and 自觉?
自觉 (zìjué) usually describes doing something on your own initiative without being told, as in 自觉遵守规则 (follow the rules willingly). 觉悟 focuses on a level of understanding or the moment of waking up to a truth.
Can 觉悟 describe a person's level of awareness?
Yes. You can say someone's 觉悟很高 (juéwù hěn gāo), meaning they have a high level of moral or social awareness. This use is common in formal writing and official speech.