笨家伙 (bèn jiā huo) — fool; clumsy fellow

Definition

noun
foolclumsy fellow

Examples

  • 笨家伙，。
    Tā zhēn shì gè bèn jiā huo, lián zhè me jiǎn dān de shì dōu zuò bù hǎo.
    He's really a fool, can't even do such a simple thing.
  • 笨家伙，。
    Bié xiàng gè bèn jiā huo yí yàng, zuò shì yào dòng nǎo zi.
    Don't act like a fool; you need to use your brains when doing things.
  • 笨家伙，。
    Nà ge bèn jiā huo yòu chuǎng huò le, zhēn shì ràng rén tóu téng.
    That clumsy fellow caused trouble again; what a headache.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

笨bènclumsy
家伙fellow
家jiā伙huǒ

笨 means clumsy, and 家伙 means fellow, so the result is a clumsy fellow.

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
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 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →

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 夥; 伙 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 伙 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (大伙儿, 伙) it is 夥; in others (小伙子) it is 伙.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
多多duō
Sound part声符shēngfú
果
果guǒ夥huǒ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 夥 combines 多 (many) with 果 as a sound part. The simplified 伙 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 伙 →

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