Word

疏忽 (shū hū) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 7

Meaning of 疏忽

动 dòng verb

overlook, neglect

由于疏忽，我忘记了锁门。

yóu yú shū hū wǒ wàng jì le suǒ mén

Due to carelessness, I forgot to lock the door.

Word breakdown

疏 shū — lax, inattentive

1 生疏 shēng shū — unfamiliar; rusty; out of practice HSK 7
- 生 unfamiliar; strange; not well-practiced
- 疏 distant; alienated; not close
Example

我很久没说英语了，感觉有点生疏。

wǒ hěn jiǔ méi shuō yīng yǔ le gǎn jué yǒu diǎn shēng shū

I haven't spoken English for a long time, feeling a bit rusty.
2 疏导 shū dǎo — to dredge, to channel, to ease (traffic/crowds/emotions) HSK 7
- 疏 to clear, to dredge, to open up (pathways)
- 导 to guide, to direct, to lead
Example

警察正在疏导人群。

jǐng chá zhèng zài shū dǎo rén qún

The police are directing the crowd.
3 疏散 shū sàn — evacuate; disperse HSK 7
- 疏 to thin out; to loosen; to make less dense
- 散 to scatter; to disperse; to distribute
Example

火灾发生后，所有居民都被疏散了。

huǒ zài fā shēng hòu suǒ yǒu jū mín dōu bèi shū sàn le

After the fire broke out, all residents were evacuated.
4 疏远 shū yuǎn — to become estranged, to drift apart HSK 7
- 疏 sparse, distant, to thin out
- 远 far, distant
Example

自从搬家后，我和老朋友渐渐疏远了。

zì cóng bān jiā hòu wǒ hé lǎo péng you jiàn jiàn shū yuǎn le

Since moving, I've gradually drifted apart from my old friends.
5 疏通 shū tōng — to dredge; to clear; to mediate HSK 7
- 疏 to thin out; to clear; to remove blockages
- 通 to make passable; to open up; to allow flow
Example

工人正在疏通河道。

gōng rén zhèng zài shū tōng hé dào

Workers are dredging the river channel.

忽 hū — ignore, overlook

1 忽然 hū rán — suddenly HSK 4
- 忽 sudden, abrupt
- 然 adverbial suffix (-ly)
Example

天空忽然下起了大雨。

tiān kōng hū rán xià qǐ le dà yǔ

The sky suddenly started pouring heavy rain.
2 忽视 hū shì — to overlook, to ignore, to neglect HSK 5
- 忽 suddenly, carelessly; contributes the sense of negligence or lack of attention
- 视 to look at, to regard; contributes the visual/perceptual aspect of viewing or considering
Example

我们不能忽视环境保护的重要性。

wǒ men bù néng hū shì huán jìng bǎo hù de zhòng yào xìng

We cannot overlook the importance of environmental protection.
3 忽略 hū lüè — to ignore, to overlook, to neglect HSK 6
- 忽 suddenly, carelessly (suggests lack of attention)
- 略 to omit, to skip over (suggests leaving something out)
Example

我们不能忽略这个问题。

wǒ men bù néng hū lüè zhè ge wèn tí

We cannot ignore this problem.
4 忽冷忽热 hū lěng hū rè — hot and cold HSK 7
- 忽 suddenly (emphasizing rapid change)
- 冷 cold (cold attitude or demeanor)
- 忽 suddenly (repeated for alternation)
- 热 hot (warm attitude or enthusiasm)
Example

他对我的态度忽冷忽热，让我很困惑。

tā duì wǒ de tài dù hū lěng hū rè ràng wǒ hěn kùn huò

His attitude toward me is hot and cold, which confuses me a lot.
5 忽悠 hū you — to fool, to deceive HSK 7
- 忽 suddenly, abruptly
- 悠 swaying, leisurely
Example

他总是忽悠别人买没用的东西。

tā zǒng shì hū you bié rén mǎi méi yòng de dōng xi

He always fools others into buying useless things.