蠢笨 (chǔn bèn) — stupid and clumsy; awkward (in mind and body); (less common) fat and clumsy; obese (of a person)

Definition

蠢笨 means 'stupid and clumsy' — both dim-witted AND physically awkward. It is a stronger, literary pejorative than 笨 (which only means dull/dumb), and adds a clumsy-bodied sense 笨 alone doesn't have.

adjective
stupid and clumsyawkward (in mind and body)(less common) fat and clumsyobese (of a person)

Examples

  • 蠢笨，。
    Tā zuò shì tài chǔn bèn, zǒng shì bāng dào máng.
    He is too clumsy and always makes things worse.
  • 蠢笨，。
    Bié kàn tā cháng dé chǔn bèn, qí shí xīn lǐ jīng míng dé hěn.
    Although he looks stupid and clumsy, he's actually very shrewd.
  • 蠢笨。
    Nà zhī chǔn bèn de xióng bǎ fēng mì guàn dǎ fān le.
    That clumsy bear knocked over the honey jar.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

蠢chǔnstupid; clumsy
笨bènclumsy; stupid

“蠢” and “笨” both convey clumsiness or dullness, so the word stresses awkwardness.

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
䖵䖵䖵insects
Sound part声符shēngfú
春
春chūn蠢chǔn
Same sound today

蠢 pairs 䖵 (insects) with 春 as a sound part.

Open 蠢 →

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
竹竹zhú
Sound part声符shēngfú
本
本běn笨bèn
Same sound today

笨 is made of 竹 and 本, where 本 gives the sound and 竹 is related to the meaning.

Open 笨 →

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