Definitions

nòng (verb) to handle; to manage; to deal with
nòng (verb) to play with; to mess with
lòng (noun) lane; alley

Etymology

Depicts a pair of hands () playing with a jade object ().

About

The character "弄" derives from an ideographic composition combining "王", representing a piece of jade, with "廾", depicting two hands, to illustrate the act of handling or playing with a precious object. Initially denoting physical manipulation, its meaning gradually extended to include abstract actions like conducting, managing, or causing a state, thereby acquiring uses in contexts ranging from practical tasks to more figurative expressions of teasing or meddling. This semantic shift allowed the character to adapt to various linguistic environments while maintaining a consistent form, and its core notion of interaction with an element persists in modern Chinese across numerous compound words and phrases.

Example Sentences Hide

妈妈好了晚饭。

Māma nòng hǎo le wǎnfàn.

Mom prepared dinner.

我把作业完了。

Wǒ bǎ zuòyè nòng wán le.

I finished my homework.

孩子脏了新衣服。

Háizi nòng zāng le xīn yīfu.

The child dirtied the new clothes.

请你清楚这个问题。

Qǐng nǐ nòng qīngchu zhège wèntí.

Please clarify this issue.

错了会议的时间。

Tā nòng cuò le huìyì de shíjiān.

He made a mistake about the meeting time.

我花了一个小时懂这道题。

Wǒ huā le yī gè xiǎoshí nòng dǒng zhè dào tí.

I spent an hour to understand this problem.

如果你不小心,就会把事情糟。

Rúguǒ nǐ bù xiǎoxīn, jiù huì bǎ shìqíng nòng zāo.

If you are not careful, you will mess things up.

他总是不明白为什么别人不同意他的观点。

Tā zǒng shì nòng bù míngbai wèishéme biérén bù tóngyì tā de guāndiǎn.

He always can't understand why others don't agree with his point of view.