闹 meaning in English

nào

noisy; cacophonous

HSK 4adjectiveverbTraditional 鬧8 strokes

Meaning of 闹

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

nào

noisy
cacophonous
to make noise
to disturb
to vent (feelings)
to fall ill
to have an attack (of sickness)
to go in (for some activity)

nào

variant of 鬧|闹[nao4]

How to use 闹

闹 describes noisy places and also means to make a scene or stir up trouble. It appears in common words like 热闹 (rènao, lively) and 闹钟 (nàozhōng, alarm clock), and in phrases like 闹肚子 (nào dùzi, to have an upset stomach). Example: 孩子在外面闹。(Háizi zài wàimiàn nào.) The kids are making a racket outside.

闹 is a door 门 (mén) with a market 市 (shì) inside. Picture a busy market crowding right up to your door, and you get noise and commotion.

Common mistake: Learners often write the inside part as 巾 or 币 instead of 市. 市 has a dot and a horizontal stroke on top. Also note that in 热闹 the 闹 is usually said in the neutral tone: rènao.

闹 in example sentences

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

他tā买mǎi的de第dì一yī项xiàng东dōng西xī是shì一yí个gè闹nào钟zhōng。

The first item he bought was an alarm clock.

市shì场chǎng上shàng到dào处chù都dōu很hěn热rè闹nào。

There isn't a place in this market that isn't lively.

父fù亲qīn把bǎ闹nào钟zhōng调diào到dào六liù时shí。

Father set the alarm for six o'clock.

闹nào钟zhōng定dìng在zài了le早zǎo上shàng5点diǎn。

The alarm clock is set for 5 a.m.

今jīn早zǎo又yòu是shì在zài孩hái子zi的de哭kū闹nào声shēng中zhōng醒xǐng来lái的de。

This morning, I woke up yet again to the sound of crying children.

Stroke order for each character

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

闹 nào · noisy · 8 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 闹.

热闹	rènao	lively; bustling; full of activity; to make things lively; to have a good time
闹钟	nàozhōng	alarm clock
胡闹	húnào	to act willfully and make a scene; to make trouble
闹事	nàoshì	to cause trouble; to create a disturbance
喧闹	xuānnào	to make a noise; noisy
看热闹	kàn rènao	to enjoy watching a bustling scene; to go where the crowds are
闹着玩儿	nàozhewánr	to play games; to joke around
闹鬼	nàoguǐ	haunted
闹剧	nàojù	farce
吵闹	chǎonào	noisy; raucous
无理取闹	wúlǐqǔnào	(idiom) to make trouble without reason; to be deliberately provocative
哭闹	kūnào	to bawl, disturbing others

Questions about 闹

What does 闹 mean?

闹 (nào) means "noisy; cacophonous" and is used as a adjective and verb.

How do you write 闹?

闹 is made of 1 character: 闹 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.

Is 闹 an HSK word?

Yes. 闹 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 闹 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 闹 is written 鬧.

Is 闹 always negative?

Not always. On its own it often suggests annoying noise or trouble. But 热闹 (rènao) is a positive word for a lively, festive atmosphere, which Chinese people usually enjoy.

What does 闹 mean in 闹笑话 or 闹别扭?

Here 闹 means to have something happen or to act out a feeling. 闹笑话 (nào xiàohua) means to make a funny blunder, and 闹别扭 (nào bièniu) means to sulk or be at odds with someone.