蠢 (chǔn) — stupid, foolish, dull, clumsy

Definition

蠢 (chǔn) is a strong, somewhat literary 'stupid/foolish,' harsher than the everyday 笨 and 傻. Often modifies actions or ideas (这个想法很蠢) rather than people directly.

adjective
stupidfoolishdullclumsy

Examples

  • 蠢。
    Tā tài chǔn le.
    He is too stupid.
  • 蠢。
    Zhè ge xiǎng fǎ hěn chǔn.
    This idea is very stupid.
  • 蠢。
    Nǐ zhè yàng zuò hěn chǔn.
    It's very stupid of you to do this.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
䖵䖵䖵insects
Sound part声符shēngfú
春
春chūn蠢chǔn
Same sound today

蠢 pairs 䖵 (insects) with 春 as a sound part.

Appears in
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