弄 meaning in English

nòng

to do; to manage

HSK 2verb7 strokes

Meaning of 弄

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

nòng

to do
to manage
to handle
to play with
to fool with
to mess with
to fix
to toy with

nòng

old variant of 弄[nong4]

lòng

lane
alley

lòng

variant of 弄[long4]

How to use 弄

弄 (nòng) is a very flexible everyday verb meaning to do, make, fix, or handle something, often when the exact action is not important. It often takes a result after it, as in 弄错 (nòngcuò) or 弄坏 (nònghuài). Example: 我把电脑弄坏了。(Wǒ bǎ diànnǎo nònghuài le.) I broke the computer.

The top part 王 looks like a piece of jade, and the bottom 廾 looks like two hands holding it. Picture two hands turning a piece of jade over and over, playing with it and handling it.

Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom as 大 or 开, but it is 廾, two short vertical strokes on a horizontal line. Also, 弄 is read lòng only in the sense of lane or alley, as in Shanghai street names, so do not use that reading for the verb.

弄 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

老lǎo爸bà知zhī道dào你nǐ弄nòng坏huài了le他tā的de手shǒu表biǎo吗ma？

Does Father know you've broken his watch?

你nǐ不bù该gāi玩wán弄nòng他tā的de感gǎn情qíng。

You should not trifle with his feelings.

我wǒ弄nòng清qīng楚chǔ她tā在zài哪nǎ儿ér了le。

I found out where she was.

他tā终zhōng于yú弄nòng清qīng楚chǔ怎zěn么me搞gǎo定dìng这zhè事shì了le。

He finally found out how to make it.

我wǒ把bǎ爸bà爸bà送sòng给gěi我wǒ的de手shǒu表biǎo弄nòng不bú见jiàn了le。

I lost the watch Father had given me.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

弄 nòng · to do · 7 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 弄.

嘲弄	cháonòng	to tease; to poke fun at
卖弄	màinong	to show off; to make a display of
弄虚作假	nòngxū-zuòjiǎ	to practice fraud (idiom); by trickery
弄错	nòngcuò	to err; to get sth wrong
玩弄	wánnòng	to play with; to toy with
弄死	nòngsǐ	to kill; to put to death
愚弄	yúnòng	to make a fool out of; to fool
弄伤	nòngshāng	to bruise; to hurt (something)
弄坏	nònghuài	to ruin; to spoil
弄脏	nòngzāng	to make dirty; to defile
弄清	nòngqīng	to clarify; to fully understand
戏弄	xìnòng	to play tricks on; to make fun of

Questions about 弄

What does 弄 mean?

弄 (nòng) means "to do; to manage" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 弄?

弄 is made of 1 character: 弄 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.

Is 弄 an HSK word?

Yes. 弄 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 弄 and 做?

做 (zuò) names a specific act of making or doing, like 做饭 (zuòfàn) to cook. 弄 is vaguer and more casual, used when you just mean dealing with or messing with something, and it pairs naturally with results like 弄好 (nònghǎo) to get it sorted.

Does 弄 sound negative?

Not by itself, since 弄好 (nònghǎo) is perfectly positive. But many common combinations describe damage or trickery, such as 弄错 (nòngcuò), 弄死 (nòngsǐ), and 玩弄 (wánnòng), so context decides the tone.