拙 (zhuō): awkward, clumsy, dull
拙 (zhuō) is a Chinese character meaning “awkward.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (semantic) and 出 (phonetic). It ranks #2571 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 拙 hand. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- awkward
- clumsy
- dull
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 拙 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 笨拙 | bèn zhuō | clumsy |
| 拙劣 | zhuō liè | clumsy |
| 弄巧成拙 | nòng qiǎo chéng zhuō | to overreach oneself |
| 拙作 | zhuō zuò | my unworthy manuscript (humble expr.) |
| 拙笨 | zhuō bèn | clumsy |
| 拙于言词 | zhuō yú yán cí | to be unable to express oneself clearly (idiom) |
| 巧诈不如拙诚 | qiǎo zhà bù rú zhuō chéng | the unvarnished truth is better than a cunning ruse (idiom) |
| 弄巧反拙 | nòng qiǎo fǎn zhuō | see 弄巧成拙 |
| 心拙口笨 | xīn zhuō kǒu bèn | dull-witted and tongue-tied |
| 拙政园 | zhuō zhèng yuán | Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou, Jiangsu |
| 将勤补拙 | jiāng qín bǔ zhuō | (idiom) to compensate for lack of ability with hard work |
| 拙见 | zhuō jiàn | my unworthy opinion (humble expr.) |
| 老拙 | lǎo zhuō | old fart (usually in self-reference) |
| 拙直 | zhuō zhí | simple and frank |
| 心拙口夯 | xīn zhuō kǒu bèn | variant of 心拙口笨 |
拙 appears in 31 compound words: 45 as the first character, 35 as the last, and 19 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 拙 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (8)
Example Sentences
妈妈拙着孩子的手，慢慢地过马路。
mā mā zhuō zhe hái zǐ de shǒu , màn màn dì guò mǎ lù .
Mom held her child's hand and slowly crossed the street.
不过他那笨拙的、略显固执的宅男性格，偶尔还是会在人际交往上，给他带去小麻烦。
bù guò tā nà bèn zhuō de , lüè xiǎn gù zhí de zhái nán xìng gé , ǒu ěr hái shì huì zài rén jì jiāo wǎng shàng , gěi tā dài qù xiǎo má fán .
However, his awkward, somewhat stubborn, and reclusive personality occasionally causes him minor problems in his interpersonal relationships.
在《赶时间的人》和《我笨拙地爱上这个世界》中，他的诗更聚焦个体感受、亲情。
zài gǎn shí jiān de rén hé wǒ bèn zhuō dì ài shàng zhè gè shì jiè zhōng , tā de shī gēng jù jiāo gè tǐ gǎn shòu , qīn qíng .
In *People in a Hurry* and *I Clumsily Fell in Love with This World*, his poetry focuses more on individual feelings and family bonds.
高莹 摄 黑山岩画风格粗犷、手法古拙，虽然技法简单，但形象十分生动有趣。
gāo yíng shè hēi shān yán huà fēng gé cū 犷 , shǒu fǎ gǔ zhuō , suī rán jì fǎ jiǎn dān , dàn xíng xiàng shí fēn shēng dòng yǒu qù .
Photo by Gao Ying. The rock art at Heishan features a bold, rustic style; though the techniques are simple, the images are vivid and intriguing.
在即时通讯高度发达的今天，这显得有些笨拙。
zài jí shí tōng xùn gāo dù fā dá de jīn tiān , zhè xiǎn dé yǒu xiē bèn zhuō .
In today's world of highly advanced instant messaging, this seems a bit clunky.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 拙 (zhuō) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 拙 and 础?
How many strokes does 拙 have?
What is the radical of 拙?
What are the components of 拙?
What are common words containing 拙?
What characters sound the same as 拙 (zhuō)?
Is 拙 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 拙 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.