鈍 means “dull, blunt, slow”

にぶい · nibui

Also: foolish

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

にぶい, にぶる, にぶ-, なまる, なまくら

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ドン

JLPT N2 · Taught in secondary school · 12 strokes

The story

Metal (金) beside 屯, a shoot barely poking through: a blade worn round instead of sharp. 鈍い is dull or slow, 鈍感 is someone who misses every hint, and skills left unused 鈍る, go rusty.

Used in 鈍い (nibui, dull/slow), 鈍感 (donkan, insensitive/oblivious), and 鈍る (niburu, to get rusty)

More from Hard & Soft

• 清 pure
• 固 harden
• 豊 abundant
• 巨 giant
• 荒 rough
• 硬 hard
• 柔 soft
• 軟 soft
• 鋭 sharp

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.