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" is structured with "王" positioned above "廾", where "廾" symbolizes two hands and "王" derives from "玉" meaning jade, visually representing the act of handling jade. Its original sense focused on physically playing with or manipulating objects, which gradually broadened to encompass more abstract actions such as doing, making, or dealing with situations. This expansion included the acquisition of nominal meanings like a lane or alley in specific lexical compounds. The compositional arrangement of hands below a jade-derived element has persisted, maintaining a direct link to its core conceptual origin.

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.