糊涂蛋 (hú tu dàn) — blunderer; bungler; a muddled person

Definition

A colloquial, mildly insulting label for someone who keeps making silly mistakes — stronger than saying they are 粗心 (careless). Literally 'muddled egg,' it adds a colorful, slightly playful bite rather than a serious insult.

noun
blundererbunglera muddled person
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 糊涂蛋，。
    Tā zhēn shì gè hú tu dàn, lián zhè me jiǎn dān de shì dōu zuò bù hǎo.
    He's really a blunderer; he can't even do such simple things.
  • 糊涂蛋，。
    Bié dāng hú tu dàn le, kuài xiǎng xiǎng bàn fǎ ba.
    Stop being a bungler and think of a way quickly.
  • 糊涂蛋。
    Nà ge hú tu dàn yòu bǎ yào shi nòng diū le.
    That blunderer lost the keys again.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

糊涂muddled
糊hú涂tú
蛋dànperson

'糊' and '涂' carry no separate meaning in '糊涂', which means muddled, and '蛋' points to a person.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
胡
胡hú糊hú
Same sound today

糊 pairs 米 (rice) with 胡 (hú), which gives the sound. The 米 part relates to the meaning.

Open 糊 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú涂tú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

涂 has 氵 on the left, a form of 水 meaning water, and 余 on the right for the sound.

Open 涂 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
虫虫chóngsnake, insect
Sound part声符shēngfú
延
延yán蛋dàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 蛋, the lower part 虫 is a snake or insect, and the upper part is a shortened 延 giving the sound for 'egg'.

Open 蛋 →

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