Definition
笨 means 'stupid, slow-witted' and also 'clumsy' (physically). It focuses on a lack of natural ability or slowness in learning, unlike 傻 (shǎ) which suggests foolishness or naivety in judgment. Among the words for 'stupid', 笨 is a common, neutral adjective; 蠢 (chǔn) is more of an insult, and 笨拙 (bèn zhuō) emphasizes physical clumsiness.
adjective
stupidfoolishclumsyslow-witted
Easily confused
- 算suànlook-aliketo calculate, compute; to figure (out)
- 本běnsound-alike(classifier) used for books, periodicals, documents, etc.
- 第dìlook-alike(prefix) used before a number to form ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.)
- 本běnsound-alike(bound form) root; origin; source
- 奔bènsound-aliketo go straight towards; to head for
Examples
- 笨，。Tā xué shùxué yǒudiǎn bèn, xūyào duō liànxí.He is a bit slow at learning math and needs more practice.
- 笨，。Bié xiào tā bèn, tā zhǐshì hái méi xíguàn.Don't laugh at him for being clumsy; he's just not used to it yet.
- 笨，。Tā suīrán yǒushí hěn bèn, dàn duì rén hěn hǎo.Although she is sometimes slow-witted, she ished, she is very nice to people.
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