Meaning of 呆
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- foolish; stupid
- expressionless; blank
- variant of 待[dai1]
- foolish; stupid (variant of 呆[dai1])
- expressionless; blank (variant of 呆[dai1])
How to use 呆
呆 describes someone who looks blank, dazed, or slow to react, and it appears in common words like 发呆 (fādāi, to space out) and 书呆子 (shūdāizi, bookworm). In spoken Chinese it is also used like 待 to mean "to stay" somewhere. Example: 我在家呆了一天。(Wǒ zài jiā dāi le yì tiān.) I stayed at home all day.
呆 is a mouth 口 sitting on top of a tree 木. Picture a face as still and wooden as a tree trunk, staring blankly with its mouth hanging open.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 呆 with 杏 (xìng, apricot), which has the same two parts stacked the other way, with 木 on top and 口 below. In 呆 the 口 is on top.
呆 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
呆 dāi · foolish · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 呆.
| 痴呆 | chīdāi | stupid; dull; (medicine) dementia |
| 目瞪口呆 | mùdèng-kǒudāi | (idiom) dumbstruck; stupefied; stunned |
| 呆子 | dāizi | fool; sucker |
| 书呆子 | shūdāizi | bookworm; pedant |
| 帅呆了 | shuàidāile | awesome; brilliant |
| 发呆 | fādāi | to stare blankly; to be stunned |
| 惊呆 | jīngdāi | stupefied; stunned |
| 呆瓜 | dāiguā | idiot; fool |
| 老年痴呆 | lǎoniánchīdāi | senile dementia; Alzheimer's disease |
Questions about 呆
What does 呆 mean?
呆 (dāi) means "foolish; stupid; expressionless; blank" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 呆?
呆 is made of 1 character: 呆 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 呆 an HSK word?
Yes. 呆 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Should I write 呆 or 待 when I mean "to stay"?
Both are used for dāi meaning "to stay," as in 呆在家里 or 待在家里. 待 is the more standard choice in formal writing, while 呆 is very common in casual writing.
Is 呆 always an insult?
Not always. 发呆 just means zoning out, and 帅呆了 (shuàidāile) is slang praise meaning "so cool it stuns you." Calling a person 呆子 (dāizi), though, is rude because it means "fool."