TongTong
Sign in

痴呆 (chī dāi) — stupid, foolish; mentally impaired, demented (due to senility or illness)

Definition

痴呆 (chīdāi) has two distinct senses: calling someone 'foolish' (colloquial insult, stronger than 傻/笨), and the medical/clinical sense 'demented' (e.g. senile dementia). Pick by context — everyday insult vs. medical condition.

adjective
stupidfoolishmentally impaireddemented (due to senility or illness)

Examples

  • 痴呆，。
    Bié nà me chī dāi, zǐ xì xiǎng xiǎng zài shuō.
    Don't be so stupid; think it over carefully before speaking.
  • 痴呆。
    Tā lǎo le yǐ hòu biàn de yǒu diǎn chī dāi.
    He became a bit senile after getting old.
  • 痴呆，？
    Nǐ wèn zhè zhǒng chī dāi de wèn tí, shuí huì huí dá?
    Asking such a stupid question — who would answer it?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

痴chīfoolish/dull
呆dāidull/stupid

“痴” and “呆” both denote dullness or foolishness, giving the sense of mental impairment.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 痴 →

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.

Open 呆 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Mental HealthIllness & Symptoms

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.