愚 (yú) · stupid, foolish, ignorant

Meanings

1 stupid
2 foolish
3 ignorant
4 humble (self-deprecating, literary)

Characters

愚

yú

foolish; stupid

Examples

HSK 6

愚公移山的故事激励了无数人。

Yúgōng-yíshān de gùshi jīlì le wúshù rén.

The story of the Foolish Old Man Moving Mountains has inspired countless people.

HSK 7-9

他做了一个愚蠢的决定。

Tā zuò le yí gè yúchǔn de juédìng.

He made a foolish decision.

Tips

culture

愚公移山 - 'The Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains' - is a famous Chinese fable from the 列子 about persistence overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles. Mao Zedong famously referenced it.

Components

radical

心 xīn

heart; mind

Bottom 心 is the heart radical, the indexing component. In classical Chinese psychology 心 covered both heart and mind, so all mental-state characters carry it: 想 to think, 念 to miss, 思 to ponder, 怕 to fear. Here it marks 愚 as a quality of the mind: foolishness, stupidity, naivety.

phonetic

禺 yú

monkey; region

Top 禺 supplies the sound, yú level-tone, no drift. Originally a drawing of a long-tailed monkey, 禺 also carried a faint flavour of 'simian, primitive', which fits 愚 nicely: a foolish mind, untrained as an animal. Same phonetic and image family: 遇 to meet, 寓 to lodge, 偶 idol, 隅 corner.