How to say “stupid” in Chinese
stupid, clumsy
“Stupid” in Chinese is 笨, bèn: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
笨 is read bèn. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On top, 竹 “bamboo”; at the bottom, 本 běn hints at the sound.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “笨”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 笨. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我太笨了，这么简单的题都做错了。wǒtàibènle,zhèmejiǎndāndetídōuzuòcuòleI'm so dumb: I got even such an easy problem wrong.
- 妈妈，我是不是很笨？māma,wǒshìbushìhěnbènMom, am I stupid?
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Everyone has their weak points”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “stupid” in Chinese?
“Stupid” in Chinese is 笨, pinyin bèn.
What does 笨 mean?
笨 (bèn) means “stupid, clumsy”.
How do you write 笨?
笨 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 笨?
笨 is read bèn. Tones: bèn — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“stupid” in the lesson “Everyone has their weak points”
This word is from the topic “People: looks and character” of HSK 4. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free