愚 (yú) — (bound form) foolish, stupid (e.g., 愚蠢, 愚笨); (bound form, polite) humble, my (used in self-reference, e.g., 愚见, 愚弟)
Definition
A bound morpheme rarely used alone: as in 愚蠢 it means 'foolish' (a more formal/written choice than 傻), and in set phrases like 愚见 or 愚兄 it is a humble way of saying 'my' when referring to yourself.
bound form
foolishstupid (e.g., 愚蠢, 愚笨)(bound form, polite) humblemy (used in self-reference, e.g., 愚见, 愚弟)
Examples
- 愚。Zhè zhǐ shì wǒ gè rén de yú jiàn.This is just my humble personal opinion.
- ，。Tā bìng bú shì zhēn de yú bèn, zhǐ shì méi yǒu nǔ lì.He's not really foolish, just not putting in effort.
- 。Tā fàn le yí gè yú chǔn de cuò wù.He made a foolish mistake.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
禺
禺yú愚yú
Same sound today
愚 pairs 心 (heart) with 禺 for the sound; the heart part relates to the sense of foolishness.
Appears in
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