(dùn) — (of a blade or point) blunt, dull; (of a person's mind) dull-witted, slow

Definition

adjective
(of a blade or point) bluntdull(of a person's mind) dull-wittedslow

Examples

  • Zhè bǎ dāo tài dùn le, qiè bú dòng cài.
    This knife is too blunt to cut vegetables.
  • Tā tóu nǎo yǒu diǎn chí dùn, xué xīn dōng xī hěn màn.
    His mind is a bit slow; he learns new things very slowly.
  • Qiān bǐ xiě jiǔ le huì biàn dùn, gāi xiāo le.
    A pencil gets dull after writing for a while; it needs sharpening.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鈍; 钝 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
túndùn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鈍 combines 金, metal, with 屯, a sound part.

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