痴

chī
#2,220 most
frequent character
imbecile, sentimental, stupid

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

痴 chī joins 疒, sickness, with 知 zhī, 'to know,' which also hints at the sound. The idea is a mind that is sick or blocked, giving the first sense, 'dull-witted, stupid,' which grew to 'foolish' and 'sentimental.'

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Same Characters, Different Readings

痴chī
variant of 痴[chi1]

Homophones

离chī
mythical beast (archaic)

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