Chinese word

闹

Pronunciation

Pinyinnào

Meaning

  • verbmake noise

Example

不要在教室里闹。bú yào zài jiào shì lǐ nào

Don't make noise in the classroom.

Illustration for 闹 (make noise)

More examples

他在街上大声闹，引来了很多人。tā zài jiē shàng dà shēng nào yǐn lái le hěn duō rén

He was making a lot of noise in the street and attracted many people.

Core concept

Unruly activity spreads through a shared space and disturbs the people in it.

Common phrases

  • 闹肚子nào dù zi

    have diarrhea

  • 闹笑话nào xiào huà

    become a laughingstock

Similar words

吵chǎo: Make loud noise that bothers people nearby.
吵闹chǎo nào: Make a loud, noisy disturbance that makes a place hard to keep quiet.
捣乱dǎo luàn: Deliberately disrupt other people's activities or the order of a place.
胡闹hú nào: Fool around or act senselessly in a way that disturbs a place and bothers people.

Definition in Chinese

发出喧闹声或通过行为引起纷扰，使环境不安静；也可指引起争执或捣乱。fā chū xuān nào shēng huò tōng guò xíng wéi yín qǐ fēn rǎo shǐ huán jìng bù ān jìng yě kě zhǐ yín qǐ zhēng zhí huò dǎo luàn

Word origin

闹 (nào, "make noise") comes from the traditional written form 鬧 (nào, "make noise"), so older texts and modern writing show the same word in different character forms.

Usage tips

  • The same verb covers childish clowning and serious public disturbance, so the surrounding situation determines whether the tone is playful or reproachful.

Other meanings

  • make a fussverb
  • fool aroundverb
  • quarrelverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word