呆 (dāi) — stupid, foolish; blank, expressionless

Definition

呆 (dāi) covers both 'stupid/foolish' (like 傻 and 笨) and 'blank, expressionless' (a spaced-out look). The blank-faced sense is more colloquial — 愣 is closer to 'stunned' than 傻.

adjective
stupidfoolishblankexpressionless
Easily confused

Examples

  • 呆，。
    Tā kàn qǐ lái hěn dāi, hǎo xiàng bú tài cōng ming.
    He looks stupid, as if not very smart.
  • ，呆。
    Tā tīng dào xiāo xi hòu, biǎo qíng biàn de hěn dāi.
    After hearing the news, her expression became blank.
  • 呆，。
    Tā yì liǎn dāi yàng, ràng rén rěn bú zhù xiǎng xiào.
    He has a blank look on his face, making people can't help laughing.

Origin

Compound ideograph
六书liùshū
会意huìyì

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

呆 combines 口 (mouth) and 木 (wood) to show something dull or wooden, which came to mean foolish.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 51000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsPersonality & Traits2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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