二百五十 (èr bǎi wǔ shí) — (slang, noun) idiot, fool, blockhead; (number) two hundred fifty

Definition

Literally "250," this number is slang for "idiot/fool" because 2-5-0 sounds like 傻 (stupid). The literal meaning "two hundred fifty" is unrelated — only the slang use is colloquial.

numeral
(slang, noun) idiotfoolblockhead(number) two hundred fifty
Easily confused

Examples

  • 二百五十，！
    Nǐ zhēn shì gè èr bǎi wǔ shí, zhè me jiǎn dān de shì dōu zuò bù hǎo!
    You're such an idiot — you can't even do such a simple thing!
  • 二百五十，。
    Bié jiào tā èr bǎi wǔ shí, tā huì shēng qì de.
    Don't call him a fool — he'll get angry.
  • 二百五十，二百五十。
    Zhè ge èr bǎi wǔ shí de jià gé shì sān bǎi kuài, bú shì èr bǎi wǔ shí.
    The price of this item is three hundred yuan, not two hundred fifty.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

二 is drawn as two parallel strokes, where the number of strokes shows the amount.

Open 二 →

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
一一yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái百bǎi
Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Open 百 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

Open 五 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early shape 十 was mostly a single vertical stroke, sometimes with a dot, and later gained a horizontal stroke to form a cross. For the number ten, it marked the next digit above one.

Open 十 →

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