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 "stupid"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "stupid", including 呆 (dāi), 呆 (dāi), 愚 (yú), 顽 (wán), 蠢 (chǔn), 痴 (chī). Study pinyin, English meanings…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "stupid" covers 7 different Chinese characters — 呆 (dāi), 呆 (dāi), 愚 (yú), 顽 (wán), 蠢 (chǔn), 痴 (chī), 笨 (bèn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 7 characters do not share a sound — their readings span dāi, yú, wán, chǔn, 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
- 呆 dāifoolish; stupid; no expression; stay; stay; stupidUseful words: 发呆, 痴呆
- 愚 yústupidUseful words: 愚蠢, 愚昧
- 顽 wánmischievous; obstinate; to play; stupid; stubborn; naughtyUseful words: 顽强, 顽固
- 蠢 chǔnblunt; stupid; to wiggle (of worms); sluggishUseful words: 愚蠢, 蠢人
Common words for these 7 "stupid" characters
Anchor each of these 7 characters in a word you can picture — start with 呆 (dāi) — so "stupid" 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愚蠢yú chǔnsilly; stupid愚昧yú mèiignorant; uneducated; ignorance愚公移山yú gōng yí shānthe old man moves mountains (idiom); fig. where there's a will, there's a way顽强wán qiángtenacious; hard to defeat
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 7 ways to say "stupid".
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)
愚 yú — stupid
自作聪明，反而显得很愚蠢。Zì zuò cōng míng, fǎn ér xiǎn de hěn yú chǔn.Trying to be clever actually makes one look foolish.
Common words: 愚蠢 (yú chǔn)、愚昧 (yú mèi)、愚公移山 (yú gōng yí shān)
顽 wán — mischievous; obstinate; to play; stupid; stubborn; naughty
不管遇到什么困难，他都顽强地坚持着。Bù guǎn yù dào shén me kùn nán, tā dōu wán qiáng de jiān chí zhe.No matter what difficulty he faces, he perseveres tenaciously.
Common words: 顽强 (wán qiáng)、顽固 (wán gù)、顽皮 (wán pí)
蠢 chǔn — blunt; stupid; to wiggle (of worms); sluggish
做事不动脑筋，难免会做出蠢事。Zuò shì bú dòng nǎo jīn, nán miǎn huì zuò chū chǔn shì.Acting without thinking inevitably leads to foolish deeds.
Common words: 愚蠢 (yú chǔn)、蠢人 (chǔn rén)、可蠢 (kě chǔn)
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 7 characters
Open 呆、呆、愚 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.