侬 meaning and stroke order
I; you; surname
How to write 侬, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 5
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- 8
Meaning of 侬
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- you (Wu dialect)
- I, me (classical)
How 侬 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Person.
亻 gives the meaning and 农 hints at the sound.
Radical: 亻 (man), shared by 277 characters on this site.
How to remember 侬
侬 is a person 亻 next to 农 (nóng), which gives the sound. Picture a person saying "nóng" to point at someone: you, or in old poems, me.
Today 侬 is best known in Shanghainese and other Wu dialects, where it means "you". In classical poetry it often means "I" or "me", as in the line from 葬花吟 (Zàng huā yín): 侬今葬花人笑痴 (nóng jīn zàng huā rén xiào chī), "I bury flowers now, and people laugh at my foolishness." A common Shanghai phrase is 侬好 (nóng hǎo), "hello".
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 农 (nóng, farming) when they mean 侬, because the sound is the same. Remember that 侬 needs the person radical 亻 since it refers to a person.
侬 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 侬
How many strokes are in 侬?
侬 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 侬 mean?
侬 (nóng) means I; you; surname.
How do you pronounce 侬?
侬 is pronounced nóng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 侬?
The radical of 侬 is 亻, which carries the idea of "man". Dictionaries list 侬 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 侬?
The traditional form of 侬 is 儂. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 侬 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Can I use 侬 instead of 你 in standard Mandarin?
Not in normal speech or writing. In standard Mandarin, use 你 (nǐ) for "you". 侬 sounds dialectal or literary, so it fits Shanghai flavor or poetry.
Why does 侬 mean both "I" and "you"?
The two meanings come from different contexts. Classical poetry used 侬 for "I, me", while modern Wu dialects such as Shanghainese use it for "you". Read the context to tell which one is meant.