呆

呆 · dāi

dull; dull-minded, simple, stupid

Entry ↗

Meanings & readings

Meaning & readings

dull; dull-minded, simple, stupid

Mandarin
dāi
Cantonese
ngoi4

Unihan definitions and selected character readings. Read the word to establish its pronunciation in context.

Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese

Readings recorded for 呆 in other language traditions. These are character-level records, not word translations or interchangeable pronunciations.

Japanese 日本語

Grouped by the source’s kana notation; no frequency ranking is implied.

On’yomi · katakana

ホウボウホタイガイダイ

Kun’yomi · hiragana

あきれるおろか

Katakana generally indicates on’yomi; hiragana generally indicates kun’yomi. The source does not identify everyday, rare, historical or name use per reading. Kana strings are preserved, including any written endings; consult a Japanese word entry for actual use.

Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kJapanese ↗ · provisional property

ホウ ボウ ホ タイ ガイ ダイ あきれる おろか

Korean 한국어

Hanja readings · Hangul

매

Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.

Reading sources explained
매
KS X 1002 (1) · Personal-name Hanja (N)
Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kHangul ↗ · provisional property

매:1N

Vietnamese Tiếng Việt

Character readings · Quốc ngữ

ngốc

Vietnamese readings associated with this Han character. This field alone does not establish word meanings, current usage, or a complete account of Hán-Nôm reading traditions.

Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kVietnamese ↗ · provisional property

ngốc

Form & structure

Writing & identity

Unicode
U+5446
Radical
口 · 30
Strokes
7 · Unihan
Residual
4

Source record · Unihan 17.0. Individual senses and historical claims have not yet been reviewed by zimai.

Stroke order

7 strokes
呆
Strokes
7
Convention
PRC · Make Me a Hanzi

7 strokes in writing order. Play to watch them, or Step through one at a time.

Modern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. Stroke medians: Make Me a Hanzi via HanziLookupJS, drawn as an even pen line.

Graphical structure

⿱口木(GHTJKPV)
How to read these symbols

⿰ left–right · ⿱ above–below · ⿻ overlap. Dotted boxes indicate positions, not missing characters. Each symbol describes the components that follow it; nested symbols describe a component in more detail. Source codes identify alternative analyses, not a writing sequence or an etymology.

BabelStone IDS · 2025-06-27. Region tags are preserved; 〾 marks approximation and {n} identifies an unencoded source component. These describe graphical structure, not historical derivation.

Words & connections

Words using 呆

Character connections

1 catalogue records include this shape in their first retained IDS. Graphical containment does not imply shared etymology.

History & distinctions

Related forms

No simplified/traditional variant property is retained for this record.

Historical readings

Middle Chinese
ngoj · 五來 反切 · #396
Middle Chinese
toj · 丁來 反切 · #398

Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.

Source row & reading categories

CSV line 3437 · ngoj = 蟹開一平咍疑 · toj = 蟹開一平咍端

Automatically generated in the source dataset; the authors checked a subset and acknowledge possible errors. All source readings are retained separately. Notation & method ↗

Sources & reference

Evidence & next depth

Source editions & exact scope ↗
Retained Unihan properties
kMandarin
dāi
kCantonese
ngoi4
kDefinition
dull; dull-minded, simple, stupid
kTotalStrokes
7
kRSUnicode
30.4
kGradeLevel
6
kTGH
2013:722

Readings across dictionaries

Hanyu Da Zidian
bǎo,dāi,ái 10585.110
Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
ái 0003.090 · dāi 0203.070
Mandarin / Cantonese · SMSZD
dāi粵ngoi4 dāi粵daai1
Small numbers locate dictionary entries; 粵 introduces Cantonese. Includes rare or historical readings. Source notation ↗

Reference desk

Sentences in context

Find examples using 呆 ↗

The attributed sentence collection is still small; this spelling has no retained example yet.

Study this character

Structure & connections

0.10
37dictionary records using 呆1forms using this shape0attributed sound links
⿱ Above / below

Shape description
口 above 木 · the same shape in all seven regional standards (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam)
Source notation ^⿱口木$(GHTJKPV)
BabelStone · 2025-06-27. Encoded shape and region tags; graphical analysis does not establish historical function.

Decompose & trace ↗Browse all 37 word records ↗Explore sound families ↗Component search ↗
Retained descriptions & scope

^⿱口木$(GHTJKPV)

All alternatives are retained. Only the first description drives component search and graphical links. Counts describe this snapshot, not frequency. Evidence and method.