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笨頭笨腦

简笨头笨脑 · 繁笨頭笨腦

Mandarin · pinyin bèn tóu bèn nǎo

(idiom) stupid; muddle-headed

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Characters in this entry

笨: bèn · foolish, stupid, dull; awkward
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
腦: Look up this written character
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
脑: nǎo · brain

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–3 · ben4 tou2 ben4 nao3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

笨頭笨腦 · find source passages ↗ · 笨头笨脑 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ban6 tau2 ban6 nou5

Cantonese word readings for 笨頭笨腦. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(of a person) stupid; slow-witted; muddleheaded
(of a design) clumsy; cumbersome

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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