Chinese word

纳闷儿

Pronunciation

Pinyinnà mènr

Meaning

  • verbfeel puzzled

Example

她听了消息后有点纳闷儿。tā tīng le xiāo xī hòu yóu diǎn nà mènr

After hearing the news, she felt a little puzzled.

Illustration for 纳闷儿 (feel puzzled)

More examples

他突然改变主意，大家都很纳闷儿。tā tū rán gǎi biàn zhǔ yì dà jiā dōu hěn nà mènr

He suddenly changed his mind, and everyone felt very puzzled.

Core concept

A puzzling situation presses lightly on the mind, leaving its cause out of reach.

Common phrases

  • 感到纳闷儿gǎn dào nà mènr

    feel puzzled

  • 有点纳闷儿yóu diǎn nà mènr

    feel a little puzzled

  • 让人纳闷儿ràng rén nà mènr

    puzzle people

Similar words

摸不着头脑mō bù zháo tóu nǎo: Become unable to understand how the facts of a situation fit together.
疑惑yí huò: Feel unsure about the truth or reason for something and want to check it.
不解bù jiě: Remain unable to understand the meaning or reason even after an explanation.
困惑kùn huò: Become confused and unsettled when a situation is hard to handle.

Definition in Chinese

对某人或某事感到疑惑，不明白其原因或道理，常用于口语，末尾常带儿化。duì mǒu rén huò mǒu shì gǎn dào yí huò bù míng bái qí yuán yīn huò dào lǐ cháng yòng yú kóu yǔ mò wěi cháng dài ér huà

Word origin

The northern colloquial word combines 纳 (nà, "take in") + 闷 (mèn, "stifled") to picture an unexplained matter held inside and not yet settled.

Usage tips

  • For everyday conversation, it presents confusion as a speaker's own reaction, so it can discuss an odd situation without placing strong blame on anyone.

Other meanings

  • find strangeverb
  • wonder aboutverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 纳闷nà mènfeel puzzledverb

Word lists with this word