很笨
hěn bèn
The English phrase "very stupid" is translated into Chinese as 很笨 (hěn bèn).
很笨 is used to describe someone who lacks intelligence or is slow to learn. The core adjective, 笨, can be used to describe both a lack of mental intelligence and physical clumsiness.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 很 (hěn), meaning 'very' and 笨 (bèn), meaning 'stupid' or 'clumsy'.
Which one should you use?
While 笨 (bèn) on its own means 'stupid', in natural spoken Chinese, it is very common to include the adverb 很 (hěn) even if you do not strictly mean 'extremely' stupid, as it makes the adjective sound more complete.
How do you pronounce it?
hěn bèn
Did you know?
- The character 笨 originally referred to a heavy or cumbersome object. Over time, the meaning shifted from things that are physically heavy to people who are slow or clumsy in their thinking.
- While 很笨 (hěn bèn) is a general term, Chinese has a specific term 笨蛋 (bèn dàn), meaning 'stupid egg', which is a common and often playful way to call someone a dummy.
- Calling a romantic partner 笨 (bèn) can actually be a compliment or a term of endearment. It suggests a certain level of 'cute' clumsiness or harmless innocence rather than a genuine insult to their intelligence.
Examples in context
- 他很笨。He is very stupid.
- 他真的很笨。Tā zhēnde hěn bèn.He is really very stupid.
- 我觉得自己很笨。Wǒ juéde zìjǐ hěn bèn.I feel that I am very stupid.
Example conversation
Two students are discussing a difficult math problem.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen这道题太难了，我怎么也算不出来。Zhè dào tí tài nán le, wǒ zěnme yě suàn bù chūlái.This problem is too hard, I just can't figure it out.
- 浩然 Haoran别这么说，你不是很笨。Bié zhème shuō, nǐ búshì hěn bèn.Don't say that, you aren't very stupid.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen可是浩然，你一次就做对了。Kěshì Hàorán, nǐ yīcì jiù zuò duì le.But Haoran, you got it right the first time.
- 浩然 Haoran因为我之前练习过很多次。Yīnwèi wǒ zhīqián liànxí guò hěnduō cì.Because I practiced it many times before.
