About
The character 咛 (simplified from traditional 嚀) combines the semantic radical 口 (kǒu, mouth) with the phonetic component 宁 (níng, traditionally written as 寧). It means to enjoin, urge, or instruct repeatedly. The mouth radical classifies it as a verbal action. 咛 is used almost exclusively in the compound word 叮咛 (dīngníng), meaning to give careful, repeated advice or warnings, typically from an elder to a younger person. Its structure directly associates the organ of speech with a phonetic element to depict persistent verbal admonition.