懵懵懂懂

měngměngdǒngdǒng

idiom

Meanings

1 muddle-headed
2 ignorant and confused
3 clueless

Characters

Examples

HSK 1

孩子还小，对这些事懵懵懂懂。

Háizi hái xiǎo, duì zhèxiē shì měngměngdǒngdǒng.

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

HSK 3

他懵懵懂懂地走进了教室。

Tā měngměngdǒngdǒng de zǒujìn le jiàoshì.

He walked into the classroom in a daze.

HSK 4

刚毕业时，我对社会懵懵懂懂的。

Gāng bìyè shí, wǒ duì shèhuì měngměngdǒngdǒng 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