笨
stupid; foolish; silly; slow-witted; clumsy
11 strokes
Dict coverage rank #2,161 U+7B28
How 笨 is formed
Phono-semantic compound (形声字)
⺮ (semantic, “bamboo”) + 本 (phonetic, běn)
How to remember it
stupid · Heisig RSH #2049
竹 bamboo + 本 notebook
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Phonetic series: characters sharing the sound component 本
Siblings built with the same phonetic component 本 (běn) — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 本 sound component | běn | root, origin, source; basis |
| 苯 | běn | benzene, benzol |
| 钵 | bō | earthen basin; alms bowl |
Words containing 笨
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 笨到家了 | bèn dào jiā le | extremely stupid |
| 大笨鸟 | dà bèn niǎo | (bird species of China) Malayan night heron (Gorsachius melanolophus) |
| 笨鸟先飞 | bèn niǎo xiān fēi | lit. the clumsy bird flies early (idiom); fig. to work hard to compensate for one's limite… |
| 大笨象 | dà bèn xiàng | (slang) elephant |
| 心拙口笨 | xīn zhuō kǒu bèn | dull-witted and tongue-tied |
| 笨人 | bèn rén | fool; stupid person |
| 笨重 | bèn zhòng | heavy; cumbersome; unwieldy; laborious; arduous |
| 笨手笨脚 | bèn shǒu bèn jiǎo | clumsy; all thumbs |
| 笨头笨脑 | bèn tóu bèn nǎo | (idiom) stupid; muddle-headed |
| 嘴笨 | zuǐ bèn | inarticulate |
| 笨鸡 | bèn jī | free-range chicken |
| 笨口拙舌 | bèn kǒu zhuō shé | see 笨嘴拙舌[ben4 zui3 zhuo1 she2] |
| 笨伯 | bèn bó | fool; dolt; clumsy oaf |
| 笨货 | bèn huò | idiot |
| 拙嘴笨舌 | zhuō zuǐ bèn shé | see 笨嘴拙舌[ben4 zui3 zhuo1 she2] |
| 笨嘴拙舌 | bèn zuǐ zhuō shé | clumsy in speech; poor speaker |
| 笨蛋 | bèn dàn | (mild insult) fool; idiot; (playful) silly person |
| 笨嘴笨舌 | bèn zuǐ bèn shé | see 笨嘴拙舌[ben4 zui3 zhuo1 she2] |
| 笨瓜 | bèn guā | fool; blockhead |
| 粗笨 | cū bèn | awkward; clumsy; unwieldy; heavy-handed |