诱惑

• Pinyin: yòu huò
• Hanzi breakdown: 诱 = 言 + 秀 (speech + elegant — enticing words); 惑 = 心 + 或 (heart + perhaps — a confused/swayed heart)

Meaning

Temptation; to tempt; enticement; allure. A powerful attraction that draws one toward something potentially harmful or morally questionable, or simply irresistible.

Functions as both verb (to tempt) and noun (temptation/allure). Distinguished from 吸引 (attract) by implying an element of resistance to overcome — something that pulls against one's better judgment or self-control. Common in moral, psychological, commercial, and literary contexts. Can describe both negative temptations (corruption, vice) and benign allure (the temptation of a dessert).

Examples

1. 他承认，自己当年是被金融高回报的诱惑慢慢拖入犯罪的。 He admitted that he was slowly led into crime by the lure of high financial returns.
2. 人类大脑偏好即时奖励，所以面对眼前利益的诱惑时，人们常难权衡长远后果。 Because the human brain prefers immediate rewards, people often struggle to weigh long-term consequences when faced with the lure of immediate gain.
3. 在腐败已成常态的环境里，拒绝诱惑不只是道德问题，也是要付出职业和安全代价的选择。 In an environment where corruption is the norm, refusing temptation is not only a moral issue but also a choice that carries career and safety costs.

Usage Guide

Context: morality, psychology, commerce, literature

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 行为经济学实验多次证明，面对精心设计的诱惑，专业决策者也常会被认知偏差影响判断。(Behavioral economics experiments have repeatedly shown that even professionally trained decision-makers are often affected by cognitive bias when faced with carefully designed temptations.)
• 这座古城在接受资本开发的诱惑和保护文化遗产之间，始终面临发展与记忆的冲突。(This ancient city faces a lasting conflict between the temptation of capital development and the protection of cultural heritage, between development and memory.)

Don't Say

• 我被这道菜诱惑到流口水了 — grammatically possible but 诱惑 in this casual context sounds overly dramatic; prefer 馋 (crave) or 被...馋到了 for food cravings in informal speech

Origin & History

诱 (to lead/entice — 言 speech + 秀 elegant; using attractive words) + 惑 (to confuse/bewitch — 心 heart + 或 maybe; a heart uncertain and swayed). Together: to lead the heart astray.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal