笨

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stupid; foolish; silly; slow-witted; clumsy

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

⺮ meaning “bamboo” + 本 sound ( běn )

Components ⺮本

stupid · Heisig RSH #2049

竹 bamboo + 本 notebook

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
笨到家了	bèn dào jiā le	extremely stupid
大笨鸟	dà bèn niǎo	(bird species of China) Malayan night heron (Gorsachius melanolophus)
笨鸟先飞	bèn niǎo xiān fēi	lit. the clumsy bird flies early (idiom); fig. to work hard to compensate for one's limite…
大笨象	dà bèn xiàng	(slang) elephant
心拙口笨	xīn zhuō kǒu bèn	dull-witted and tongue-tied
笨人	bèn rén	fool; stupid person
笨重	bèn zhòng	heavy; cumbersome; unwieldy; laborious; arduous
笨手笨脚	bèn shǒu bèn jiǎo	clumsy; all thumbs
笨头笨脑	bèn tóu bèn nǎo	(idiom) stupid; muddle-headed
嘴笨	zuǐ bèn	inarticulate
笨鸡	bèn jī	free-range chicken
笨口拙舌	bèn kǒu zhuō shé	see 笨嘴拙舌[ben4 zui3 zhuo1 she2]
笨伯	bèn bó	fool; dolt; clumsy oaf
笨货	bèn huò	idiot
拙嘴笨舌	zhuō zuǐ bèn shé	see 笨嘴拙舌[ben4 zui3 zhuo1 she2]
笨嘴拙舌	bèn zuǐ zhuō shé	clumsy in speech; poor speaker
笨蛋	bèn dàn	(mild insult) fool; idiot; (playful) silly person
笨嘴笨舌	bèn zuǐ bèn shé	see 笨嘴拙舌[ben4 zui3 zhuo1 she2]
笨瓜	bèn guā	fool; blockhead
粗笨	cū bèn	awkward; clumsy; unwieldy; heavy-handed

Characters sharing the sound component 本 — compare how they read.