懵懵懂懂

měngměngdǒngdǒng

idiom

Meanings

1 muddle-headed
2 ignorant and confused
3 clueless

Characters

Examples

他懵懵懂懂地走进了教室。

Tā měng měng dǒng dǒng de zǒu jìn le jiàoshì.

He walked into the classroom in a daze.

孩子还小，对这些事懵懵懂懂。

Háizi hái xiǎo, duì zhèxiē shì měng měng dǒng dǒng.

The child is still young and is clueless about these things.

刚毕业时，我对社会懵懵懂懂的。

Gāng bìyè shí, wǒ duì shèhuì měng měng dǒng dǒng de.

Right after graduation, I was pretty clueless about society.

Tips

history

Attested in Wu Cheng'en's 《西游记》 (Journey to the West), describing the pig-spirit Zhu Bajie 'clueless, carrying his bowl.' Reduplicated form of 懵懂 for emphasis.

usage

Often describes children, newcomers, or someone just waking up. Gentler and more affectionate than 糊涂 (hútu).

Stroke Order

懵 měng

懂 dǒng