孬 meaning and stroke order
Bad, cowardly, useless; rogue, scoundrel
How to write 孬, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 孬
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (dialect) contracted form of 不好[bu4 hao3]
How 孬 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Not 不 good 好.
Radical: 子 (son), shared by 30 characters on this site.
How to remember 孬
孬 (nāo) is simply 不 (bù, not) stacked on top of 好 (hǎo, good). Something that is "not good" is bad, weak, or cowardly.
孬 is a dialect word, common in northern speech such as Shandong and Henan, meaning bad, weak, or cowardly. It often appears in the insult 孬种 (nāozhǒng) and in the set phrase 不孬 (bù nāo), "not bad." Example: 他一点也不孬。(Tā yìdiǎn yě bù nāo.) He is not a coward at all.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 孬 as two syllables, bù hǎo, because they see 不 and 好. It is one syllable, nāo, with a first tone. Do not confuse it with 好 (hǎo), and do not write 不 and 好 side by side. 不 sits on top of 好.
Common words with 孬
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 孬种 | nāozhǒng | coward; useless scoundrel |
Questions about 孬
How many strokes are in 孬?
孬 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 孬 mean?
孬 (nāo) means bad, cowardly, useless; rogue, scoundrel. A common word with it is 孬种 (nāozhǒng), meaning "coward; useless scoundrel".
How do you pronounce 孬?
孬 is pronounced nāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 孬?
The radical of 孬 is 子, which carries the idea of "son". Dictionaries list 孬 under this radical.
Is 孬 rude or offensive?
It can be. Calling someone 孬种 (nāozhǒng) is an insult, similar to calling them a coward or a good-for-nothing. Describing a thing as 孬 is milder and just means it is poor quality.
Will people outside northern China understand 孬?
Many will recognize it, especially in 孬种. In standard Mandarin, though, people usually say 不好 (bù hǎo), 差 (chà), or 胆小 (dǎnxiǎo, timid) instead, so 孬 sounds colloquial and regional.