笨 (bèn) — stupid; foolish; clumsy; slow-witted
Definition
笨 focuses on slow-wittedness and clumsiness (learning, doing things), not insults. It's milder than 傻 or 蠢, which mean outright 'stupid' and can hurt feelings.
adjective
stupidfoolishclumsyslow-witted
Easily confused
Examples
- 笨，。Tā xué shù xué yǒu diǎn bèn, xū yào duō liàn xí.He is a bit slow at learning math and needs more practice.
- 笨，。Bié xiào tā bèn, tā zhǐ shì hái méi xí guàn.Don't laugh at him for being clumsy; he's just not used to it yet.
- 笨，。Tā suī rán yǒu shí hěn bèn, dàn duì rén hěn hǎo.Although she is sometimes slow-witted, she ished, she is very nice to people.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
笨 is made of 竹 and 本, where 本 gives the sound and 竹 is related to the meaning.
Appears in
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