愚問愚答 (ぐもんぐとう)

Today’s Yojijukugo is 愚問愚答 (ぐもんぐとう).

• Meaning:
  • 実りのないつまらない問答のこと。。
  • Meaning: Silly questions and silly answers; a silly dialogue.

• Composition:
  • 愚問 (ぐもん): This combines the kanji for “foolish” or “stupid” (愚) with the one for “question” and “problem” (問), thus meaning “stupid question“.
  • 愚答 (ぐとう): In a similar way, this combines 愚 with the Kanji for “answer” (答), thus meaning “stupid answer“.

• Example:
  • 久しぶりに会ってなかった友達に会うと愚問愚答ばかりで、がっかりした。
  • ひさしぶりにあってなかったともだちにあうとぐもんぐとうばかりで、がっかりした。
  • I was disappointed by the pointless conversation we had when I met a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time.

This Yojijukugo is in the Kanji Kentei Level 3 (三級) and has 1 antonym:

• 愚問賢答 (ぐもんけんとう): Not part of the Kanji Kentei.
  • The sole change here is in the replacement of the second 愚 with 賢 which means “intelligent” or “wisdom”. As a result, this would be translated as “stupid questions and wise answers“, thus making it not a perfect antonym in my opinion. (The 四字熟語辞典 still sees it as such though.)

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愚問愚答を避けて時間を大事にしましょう！