呆 dāi — foolish; stupid; no expression; stay; stay; stupid
听到这个消息，他惊呆了。Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā jīng dāi le.Hearing this news, he was stunned.
Common words: 发呆 (fā dāi)、痴呆 (chī dāi)、目瞪口呆 (mù dèng kǒu dāi)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "foolish"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "foolish", including 呆 (dāi), 傻 (shǎ), 痴 (chī), 笨 (bèn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "foolish" covers 4 different Chinese characters — 呆 (dāi), 傻 (shǎ), 痴 (chī), 笨 (bèn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 4 characters do not share a sound — their readings span dāi, shǎ, chī, bèn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 呆 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 呆 dāifoolish; stupid; no expression; stay; stay; stupidUseful words: 发呆, 痴呆
- 傻 shǎfoolishUseful words: 傻瓜, 傻子
- 痴 chīimbecile; sentimental; stupid; foolish; silly; imbecileUseful words: 痴呆, 痴迷
- 笨 bènstupid; foolish; silly; slow-witted; clumsyUseful words: 笨拙, 笨蛋
Common words for these 4 "foolish" characters
Anchor each of these 4 characters in a word you can picture — start with 呆 (dāi) — so "foolish" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
发呆fā dāito stare blankly; to be stunned; to be lost in thought痴呆chī dāistupid; dull; (medicine) dementia目瞪口呆mù dèng kǒu dāi(idiom) dumbstruck; stupefied; stunned傻瓜shǎ guāidiot; fool傻子shǎ ziidiot; fool傻话shǎ huàfoolish talk; nonsense痴呆chī dāistupid; dull; (medicine) dementia痴迷chī míinfatuated; obsessed痴心chī xīninfatuation笨拙bèn zhuōclumsy; awkward; stupid
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 4 ways to say "foolish".
傻 shǎ — foolish
别傻站着了，快过来帮忙吧。Bié shǎ zhàn zhe le, kuài guò lái bāng máng ba.Do not just stand there foolishly; come and help.
Common words: 傻瓜 (shǎ guā)、傻子 (shǎ zi)、傻话 (shǎ huà)
痴 chī — imbecile; sentimental; stupid; foolish; silly; imbecile
他对画画十分着迷，简直到了痴迷的地步。Tā duì huà huà shí fēn zháo mí, jiǎn zhí dào le chī mí de dì bù.He is so fascinated with painting that he is utterly obsessed.
Common words: 痴呆 (chī dāi)、痴迷 (chī mí)、痴心 (chī xīn)
笨 bèn — stupid; foolish; silly; slow-witted; clumsy
只要肯努力，笨鸟也能先飞。Zhǐ yào kěn nǔ lì, bèn niǎo yě néng xiān fēi.As long as you work hard, even a slow bird can fly ahead.
Common words: 笨拙 (bèn zhuō)、笨蛋 (bèn dàn)、笨重 (bèn zhòng)
All 4 characters
Open 呆、傻、痴 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.