(bèn) - stupid, slow-witted; clumsy, awkward in Mandarin
bènTraditional: 笨
Translation
stupid, slow-witted; clumsy, awkward
Word origin
Originally the pale inner lining of a bamboo stem, written with 竹 (zhú, bamboo) over 本 (běn, root, also the phonetic). The sense of coarse, unworked material shifted to a coarse, unquick mind.
- Origin
- Chinese
- Root
- 竹 (zhú, bamboo) + 本 (běn, root, phonetic)
Stroke order
笨
Examples
，。
I am not stupid, I just did not hear properly.
。
That way of doing it is far too clumsy.
，。
He is clumsy with his hands and cannot manage this kind of fine work.
，。
Do not call the child stupid, he simply has not learned it yet.
，。
The slow bird sets off first, so let us leave early.
笨 (bèn) is the plain word for slow-witted, and it covers the body as well as the brain. A person can be 笨, and so can a method, a piece of furniture or a pair of hands: 笨 there means heavy, unhandy, more effort than the job deserves.
It is blunter than it looks on the page. Said to a child or a colleague it stings, which is why the softer 傻 gets used affectionately between friends and 笨 usually does not. Where English hedges with not very quick, Mandarin speakers hedge by aiming it at themselves: 我真笨 after losing your keys is normal and self-deprecating.
The trap for English speakers is treating it as a synonym of 傻. 傻 is silly, naive, away with the fairies; 笨 is an accusation about ability. And note that 笨 attaches happily to things, so 笨办法 is a clumsy solution, not a stupid one.
Where this fits
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笨: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "笨" (stupid, slow-witted; clumsy, awkward): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 58.