to do; to handle; to make; to mess with
HSK level
弄 is written with 7 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
弄 (nòng) is an all-purpose spoken verb meaning 'to do,' 'to handle,' 'to make,' or 'to mess with' something — the Chinese equivalent of English's vague 'do' or 'fix' in sentences like 'let me do it' or 'what did you do to this?'
It is one of the most flexible verbs in casual speech, standing in for a more specific action the speaker either doesn't need to name or can't be bothered to. 弄 frequently combines with a result complement: 弄坏 (break it), 弄丢 (lose it), 弄错 (get it wrong), 弄好 (fix/finish it), 弄清楚 (figure it out). Two cautions for learners: this character is also read lòng, a completely different word meaning 'lane/alley' (as in 弄堂), and 弄 carries a faint tone of clumsiness or interference — 弄坏 implies you broke it, often by mishandling.
Note: Very colloquial and general-purpose. In formal writing a speaker would pick a specific verb (修理, 处理, 制作) instead of the catch-all 弄.
我把手机弄丢了。
Wǒ bǎ shǒujī nòng diū le.
I lost my phone.
spoken
别弄坏了，这是新的。
Bié nòng huài le, zhè shì xīn de.
Don't break it, this is new.
spoken
这件事我们得弄清楚。
Zhè jiàn shì wǒmen děi nòng qīngchu.
We need to figure this matter out clearly.
neutral
你在弄什么呢？
Nǐ zài nòng shénme ne?
What are you fiddling with?
spoken
搞 is an even more slangy catch-all verb, common in the south and in casual/internet speech. 弄 is a touch more neutral; 搞 can sound rougher or edgier depending on context.
The same character read lòng means 'lane/alley' (弄堂 lòngtáng, a Shanghai-style alley). The HSK verb sense is nòng ('to do/handle'). Same glyph, two unrelated words.
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