蠢

惷

chǔn

䖵 + 春

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

chǔn (adjective) stupid; foolish

chǔn (adjective) sluggish; clumsy

chǔn (verb) to wiggle; to move clumsily

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 春 represents the sound and 䖵 represents the meaning.

Semantic: 虫 Phonetic: 春

About

蠢 is a phono-semantic compound: the top element 春 (chūn) provides the pronunciation, while the bottom component 䖵, a duplication of 虫 'insect' indicating a multitude, conveys the meaning. The earliest definitions refer to the wriggling and squirming movements of insects, especially their sudden activity when spring warmth arrives. This association with the clumsy, sluggish crawling of bugs later extended metaphorically to human conduct, and the character now primarily means 'stupid' or 'foolish'.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他做了一件蠢事。

Tā zuò le yī jiàn chǔn shì.

He did a stupid thing.

这个主意真愚蠢。

Zhè gè zhǔ yì zhēn yú chǔn.

This idea is really foolish.

别犯蠢了，快点工作。

Bié fàn chǔn le, kuài diǎn gōng zuò.

Don't be foolish, hurry up and work.

她认为那个决定很蠢。

Tā rèn wéi nà gè jué dìng hěn chǔn.

She thinks that decision is very stupid.

愚蠢的行为会导致失败。

Yú chǔn de xíng wéi huì dǎo zhì shī bài.

Foolish behavior can lead to failure.

他蠢得让人无法理解。

Tā chǔn de ràng rén wú fǎ lǐ jiě.

He is so stupid that it's incomprehensible.

避免蠢错误需要细心。

Bì miǎn chǔn cuò wù xū yào xì xīn.

Avoiding stupid mistakes requires carefulness.

尽管他蠢，但心地善良。

Jǐn guǎn tā chǔn, dàn xīn dì shàn liáng.

Although he is stupid, he is kind-hearted.

Related Characters

Component: 䖵

Component: 春

蠢