(bèn) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

bèn stupid, foolish, dull, awkward 11 strokes · Radical (bamboo) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 笨 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced bèn.

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
笨 — 11 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图(数字为下笔顺序)。

Decomposition

breaks down into 2 components arranged as Top + Bottom. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

=
top bamboo
bottom root

Radical

The radical of is — meaning bamboo. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

Other HSK 4 characters that share this radical: .

How the character is built

is a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component (bamboo) carries the meaning, while the phonetic component originally indicated the sound.

HSK 4 Words Containing 笨

bèn stupid; dull
这道题我不笨,只是没学过。
Zhè dào tí wǒ bú bèn, zhǐshì méi xué guò.
I'm not stupid about this problem, I just haven't learned it.

Tasks Featuring 笨 / 相关任务

Words containing appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 谈论某个人物
Describe a Person ·

FAQ

What does 笨 mean in Chinese?

笨 (bèn) means stupid, foolish, dull, awkward. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 笨 have?

笨 is written in 11 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 笨?

The radical of 笨 is ⺮ (bamboo). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 篇, 管, 符, 籍, 签.

What is the pinyin for 笨?

笨 is pronounced bèn.

What HSK 4 words use 笨?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 笨 appears in 1 word, including 笨 (bèn). See the full list above.

bèi All Characters bí →