How to Write 蠢 (chǔn) — Meaning “Stupid / Clumsy”

Imagine that in spring (春), many insects (䖵) wake up and act clumsily and stupidly. This picture helps you connect the top part (spring) and bottom part (insects) to the meaning "stupid."

Write the top part 春 first: three horizontal strokes, then a long left-falling stroke and a right-falling stroke. Below, place two 虫 stacked — the upper 虫 is slightly narrower. A common mistake is making the two 虫 too far apart or uneven in size.

All three share the 虫 radical, but 蠢 has 春 on top, meaning "stupid." 蟹 uses 解 on the right and means "crab," while 蟾 uses 詹 on the right and means "toad." So look at the different parts above or beside 虫 to tell them apart.

蠢 appears in common words like 愚蠢 (stupid) and 蠢事 (stupid act) to describe foolish behavior. It can also mean "to stir" in 蠢动, but this is less common. Note that 蠢 is a strong insult, so avoid using it directly about people in polite conversation.

Common words containing 蠢 include: 蠢事 (chǔn shì) — Stupid thing / Folly; 愚蠢 (yú chǔn) — stupid / foolish; 蠢动 (chǔn dòng) — To begin to stir / To wiggle.