弄 (nòng): to do, to manage, to handle, to play with, to fool with, to mess with
弄 (nòng) is a Chinese character meaning “to do.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 玉 (structural) and 廾 (structural). It ranks #1052 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 弄 two hands 廾 playing with a piece of jade 玉; 廾 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 廾 (hands joined) appears in many related characters such as 开 (kāi, to open (transitive or intransitive)), 弃 (qì, to abandon), 异 (yì, different).
Definitions
- to do
- to manage
- to handle
- to play with
- to fool with
- to mess with
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTwo hands 廾 playing with a piece of jade 玉; 廾 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿱玉廾 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 弄 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 玩弄verb | wán nòng | to play with |
| 弄清verb | nòng qīng | to clarify |
| 愚弄verb | yú nòng | to make a fool out of |
| 捉弄verb | zhuō nòng | to tease |
| 糊弄verb | hù nong | to fool |
| 摆弄verb | bǎi nòng | to move back and forth |
| 戏弄verb | xì nòng | to play tricks on |
| 嘲弄verb | cháo nòng | to tease |
| 卖弄verb | mài nong | to show off |
| 里弄noun | lǐ lòng | lanes and alleys |
| 作弄verb | zuò nòng | to tease |
| 耍弄verb | shuǎ nòng | to play with |
| 拨弄verb | bō nòng | to move to and fro (with hand, foot, stick etc) |
| 弄巧成拙phrase | nòng qiǎo chéng zhuō | to overreach oneself |
| 搔首弄姿phrase | sāo shǒu nòng zī | (idiom) to strike a coquettish pose |
弄 appears in 83 compound words: 43 as the first character, 42 as the last, and 14 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 弄 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (16)
to show off one's inferior talent or skill in front of an expert; to teach an expert how to do things
to turn simulation into reality unintentionally; fantasy becomes reality
to show off one's literary skills; to be playful with language and words (in writing); to juggle with words
to show off one's inferior talent or skill in front of an expert; to teach an expert how to do things
to show off one's literary skills; to be playful with language and words (in writing); to juggle with words
Showing 12 of 16 idioms containing 弄.
Example Sentences
学习弄字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。
xué xí lòng zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Mastering the art of writing requires repeated practice to achieve neatness.
疑因游客逗弄嬉笑酿祸 美动物园倭黑猩猩失控撞裂防护玻...
yí yīn yóu kè dòu nòng xī xiào niàng huò měi dòng wù yuán 倭 hēi xīng xīng shī kòng zhuàng liè fáng hù bō . . .
A chimpanzee at a U.S. zoo reportedly went berserk and smashed through a protective glass barrier after being teased and laughed at by visitors...
将军澳村屋7岁男童疑弄坏舅父iPad 遭衣架打及用杯盖掟伤头浴...
jiāng jūn ào cūn wū 7 suì nán tóng yí nòng huài jiù fù i P a d zāo yī jià dǎ jí yòng bēi gài 掟 shāng tóu yù . . .
A 7-year-old boy in a village house in Tseung Kwan O was suspected of breaking his uncle's iPad, was beaten by a hanger and threw a cup lid to injure his head in the bath...
...捷运“大腿被蹭10秒” 低头见痴汉露鸟套弄
. . . jié yùn dà tuǐ bèi cèng 1 0 miǎo dī tóu jiàn chī hàn lù niǎo tào nòng
... MRT "thighs were rubbed for 10 seconds" and looked down to see the fool dew bird
巷弄不念“ㄋㄨㄥˋ” 正确读音曝!家长愣:小...
xiàng nòng bù niàn zhèng què dòu yīn pù ! jiā cháng lèng : xiǎo . . .
The alley does not pronounce "ㄋㄨㄥˋ" correctly pronounced and exposed! Parents were stunned: Small...
上海这家人收了7万块压岁钱!竟被家长弄丢了
shàng hǎi zhè jiā rén shōu le 7 wàn kuài yā suì qián ! jìng bèi jiā cháng nòng diū le
The Shanghai family received 70,000 yuan of New Year's money! I was lost by my parents
我在哪儿可以弄到电话卡？
Wǒ zài nǎr kěyǐ nòngdào diànhuàkǎ?
Where can I get a telephone card?
请问河南中路五十二弄在什么地方？
Qǐngwèn Hénán zhōnglù wǔshí èr nòng zài shénmedìfang?
Excuse me, where is 52 south river street?
你从哪儿弄来的钱去买那件衣服？
Nǐ cóng nǎr nòng lái de qián qù mǎi nà jiàn yīfu?
Where did you get the money to buy that dress?
老爸知道你弄坏了他的手表吗？
Lǎobà zhīdào nǐ nònghuài le tā de shǒubiǎo ma?
Does Father know you've broken his watch?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 弄 (nòng) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 弄?
What are the components of 弄?
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Is 弄 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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