嫩

See also: 嫰, 㜛, and 媆

嫩 U+5AE9, 嫩 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5AE9 ← 嫨 [U+5AE8] CJK Unified Ideographs 嫪 → [U+5AEA]

Translingual

Han character

嫩 (Kangxi radical 38, 女+11, 14 strokes, cangjie input 女木中大 (VDLK), four-corner 4844₀, composition ⿰女敕)

Derived characters

• 𡁛, 𩠶, 𡽫, 𧀒, 𥶄

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 270, character 11
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6666
• Dae Jaweon: page 538, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1075, character 15
• Unihan data for U+5AE9

Chinese

trad.		嫩
simp. #		嫩
alternative forms		嫰 媆

Glyph origin

Corrupted form of 㜛.

Etymology 1

Unclear. Possibly as variant of 耎 (OC) ~ 輭 (OC *nonʔ); alternatively, related to Burmese နုန့် (nun., “weak, exhausted from illness”), yet this meaning barely overlaps with "soft to touch" (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): nèn (nen⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄣˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): nyun⁶
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): nun
• Jin (Wiktionary): nung³
• Northern Min (KCR): nō̤ng
• Eastern Min (BUC): nâung
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): lūn

  (Teochew, Peng'im): lung³ / nung³

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶nen

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: nèn
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄣˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: nèn
    • Wade–Giles: nên⁴
    • Yale: nèn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: nenn
    • Palladius: нэнь (nɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nən⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: nyun⁶
    • Yale: nyuhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: nyn⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: nün⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nyːn²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: nun
    • Hakka Romanization System: nun
    • Hagfa Pinyim: nun⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /nun⁵⁵/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: nung³
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /nũŋ⁴⁵/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: nō̤ng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nɔŋ⁵⁵/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: nâung
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nˡɑuŋ²⁴²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lūn
    • Tâi-lô: lūn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: lun
    • IPA (Xiamen): /lun²²/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /lun⁴¹/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /lun²²/
    • IPA (Taipei): /lun³³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lun³³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: lung³ / nung³
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: lùng / nùng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /luŋ²¹³/, /nuŋ²¹³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶nen
    • MiniDict: nen^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³nen
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /nən²³/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 嫩
Mandarin	Beijing	/nən⁵¹/
	Harbin	/lən⁵³/ /nən⁵³/
	Tianjin	/lən⁵³/
	Jinan	/luẽ²¹/
	Qingdao	/luə̃⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/luən³¹²/
	Xi'an	/nuẽ⁴⁴/
	Xining	/nuə̃²¹³/
	Yinchuan	/nuŋ¹³/
	Lanzhou	/lũn¹³/
	Ürümqi	/nuŋ²¹³/
	Wuhan	/nən³⁵/
	Chengdu	/nən¹³/
	Guiyang	/nen²¹³/
	Kunming	/nuə̃²¹²/
	Nanjing	/lun⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/lən⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/nuəŋ⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/nəŋ³⁵/
	Hohhot	/nə̃ŋ⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/nəŋ²³/
	Suzhou	/nən³¹/
	Hangzhou	/nen¹³/
	Wenzhou	/nø²²/
Hui	Shexian	/lʌ̃²²/
	Tunxi	/luːə¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/lən⁵⁵/ /lən¹¹/
	Xiangtan	/nən²¹/
Gan	Nanchang	/lɨn²¹/
Hakka	Meixian	/nun⁵³/
	Taoyuan	/nun⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/nyn²²/
	Nanning	/nyn²²/
	Hong Kong	/nyn²²/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/lun²²/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/nɔuŋ²⁴²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/nɔŋ⁴⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/luŋ²¹³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/nun³⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: nwonH

Rime
Character	嫩
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	泥 (8)
Final (韻)	魂 (55)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	奴困切
Baxter	nwonH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/nuənH/
Pan Wuyun	/nuonH/
Shao Rongfen	/nuənH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/nwənH/
Li Rong	/nuənH/
Wang Li	/nuənH/
Bernard Karlgren	/nuənH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	nùn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	neon6

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*nuːns/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	嫩
Reading #	1/1
No.	9409
Phonetic component	嫩
Rime group	文
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	嫩
Old Chinese	/*nuːns/

Definitions

嫩

1. tender; delicate
2. inexperienced; unskilled

   那幫新生太嫩了，真受不了。 [MSC, trad.]
   那帮新生太嫩了，真受不了。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nà bāng xīnshēng tài nèn le, zhēn shòubuliǎo. [Pinyin]

   Those new students are so noobish; I can't stand them.

3. (of food) tender; soft
4. (of colour) light
5. (Eastern Min) small

Synonyms

• (tender):

Dialectal synonyms of 嫩 (“(of food) tender; soft”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		嫩
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	嫩
	Singapore	嫩
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	嫩
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	嫩
Southwestern Mandarin	Wuhan	嫩
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	嫩
Cantonese	Guangzhou	嫩
	Hong Kong	嫩
	Dongguan	嫩
	Singapore (Guangfu)	嫩
Gan	Nanchang	嫩
	Lichuan	嫩
Jin	Taiyuan	嫩
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	幼
Southern Min	Xiamen	幼
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	幼
	Quanzhou	幼
	Zhangzhou	幼
	Tainan	幼
	Singapore (Hokkien)	幼
	Singapore (Teochew)	幼
	Wenchang	幼
	Haikou	幼
Wu	Hangzhou	嫩
	Ningbo	嫩

• (small):

Dialectal synonyms of 小 (“small”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		小
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	小
	Taiwan	小
	Harbin	小
	Malaysia	小
	Singapore	小
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	小
	Jinan	小
Central Plains Mandarin	Wanrong	小
	Xi'an	小, 碎
	Xining	小, 尕
	Xuzhou	小
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	小
	Ürümqi	小, 尕
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	小
	Wuhan	小
	Guiyang	小
	Guilin	小
	Liuzhou	小
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	小
	Yangzhou	小
	Hefei	小
Cantonese	Guangzhou	細
	Hong Kong	細
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	細
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	細
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	細
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	細
	Macau	細
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	細
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	細
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	細
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	細
	Foshan	細
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	細
	Foshan (Shunde)	細
	Foshan (Sanshui)	細
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	細
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	細
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	細
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	細
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	細
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	細
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	細
	Taishan	細
	Kaiping (Chikan)	細
	Enping (Niujiang)	細
	Heshan (Yayao)	細
	Dongguan	細
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	細
	Qingyuan	細
	Fogang	細
	Yingde (Hanguang)	細
	Yangshan	細
	Lianzhou (Qingshui Sihui)	細
	Shaoguan	細
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	細
	Renhua	細
	Lechang	細
	Zhaoqing (Gaoyao)	細
	Sihui	細
	Guangning	細
	Deqing	細
	Huaiji	細
	Yunfu	細
	Xinxing	細
	Luoding	細
	Yunan (Pingtai)	細
	Yangjiang	細
	Xinyi	細
	Maoming (Xinpo)	細
	Lianjiang	細
	Nanning	細
	Wuzhou	細, 𱒃
	Yulin	𱒃
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	𱒃
	Hepu (Shatian)	𱒃
	Guiping	細, 小
	Guiping (Mule)	𱒃
	Pingnan	細
	Mengshan (Xihe)	細
	Guigang (Gangcheng)	細
	Guigang (Nanjiang)	細
	Guigang (Pingdong)	細
	Beiliu (Tangliao)	細
	Baise	細
Bobai	細
Lingshan	細
Pubei	細
Qinzhou	細
Qinzhou (Xiniujiao)	𱒃
Beihai	細
Beihai (Nankang)	細
Beihai (Yingpan)	𱒃
Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	細
Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	細, 小
Ningming	細
Hengzhou	細
Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	細
Danzhou	細
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	細
Singapore (Guangfu)	細
Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	細
Móng Cái	細
Gan	Nanchang	細, 小
	Lichuan	細, 小
	Pingxiang	細, 小
Hakka	Meixian	細, 小
	Xingning	細
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	細
	Huiyang	細
	Huidong (Daling)	細
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	細
	Boluo (Bendihua)	細
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	細
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	小
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	細
	Longchuan (Tuocheng Bendihua)	細
	Heping (Linzhai Bendihua)	細
	Lianping (Longjie Bendihua)	細
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	細
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	細
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	細
	Jiexi	細
	Changting	細
	Wuping	細
	Wuping (Pingyu)	細
	Liancheng	細
	Ninghua	小
	Yudu	細
	Ruijin	細
	Shicheng	細
	Shangyou (Shexi)	細
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	細
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	細
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	細
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	細
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	細
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	細
	Hong Kong	細
	Beiliu (Tang'an)	小
	Mashan (Pianlian)	細
	Senai (Huiyang)	細
Huizhou	Jixi	小
Jin	Taiyuan	小
Northern Min	Jian'ou	小
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	嫩, 細
	Fuzhou (Changle)	嫩
	Fuqing	嫩
	Yongtai	嫩
	Gutian	嫩
	Fu'an	嫩
	Ningde	嫩
	Shouning	嫩
	Zhouning	細
	Fuding	嫩, 細
	Matsu	嫩
Southern Min	Xiamen	細
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	細
	Quanzhou	細
	Jinjiang	細
	Nan'an	細
	Hui'an	細
	Anxi	細
	Yongchun	細
	Dehua	細
	Zhangzhou	細
	Zhangzhou (Longhai)	細
	Zhangzhou (Changtai)	細
	Hua'an	細
	Nanjing	細
	Pinghe	細
	Zhangpu	細
	Yunxiao	細
	Zhao'an	細
	Dongshan	細
	Taipei	小, 細
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	小, 細
	Kaohsiung	小, 細
	Yilan	小, 細
	Changhua (Lukang)	小, 細
	Taichung	小, 細
	Tainan	小, 細
	Hsinchu	小, 細
	Kinmen	小
	Penghu (Magong)	小
	Penang (Hokkien)	細
	Singapore (Hokkien)	細
	Manila (Hokkien)	細
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	細
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	小
	Chaozhou	細
	Shantou	細
	Shantou (Chenghai)	細
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	細
	Jieyang	細
	Haifeng	細
	Bangkok (Teochew)	細
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	細
	Singapore (Teochew)	細
	Batam (Teochew)	細
	Pontianak (Teochew)	細
	Leizhou	細
	Wenchang	細, 孧
	Haikou	細, 孧
	Qionghai	孧
	Singapore (Hainanese)	孧, 細
Puxian Min	Putian	細
	Xianyou	細
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	細
	Nanning (Shajing)	細
	Binyang (Xinqiao)	細
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Chaoyang)	細
	Guilin (Zhuyuan)	細
	Lingchuan (Tanxia)	細
Wu	Shanghai	小
	Shanghai (Chongming)	小
	Suzhou	小
	Danyang	小
	Hangzhou	小
	Ningbo	小
	Wenzhou	小, 瑣
	Lishui	細
	Jinyun	巧
	Jinhua	小
Xiang	Changsha	細, 小
	Loudi	小
	Shuangfeng	細
	Quanzhou	小
	Guanyang (Wenshi)	小

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “tender”): 老 (lǎo)

Compounds

• 嫩寒
• 嫩弱
• 嫩手
• 嫩晴
• 嫩氣／嫩气
• 嫩江 (Nèn Jiāng)
• 嫩涼／嫩凉
• 嫩生
• 嫩生生
• 嫩紅／嫩红
• 嫩綠／嫩绿 (nènlǜ)
• 嫩綽綽／嫩绰绰
• 嫩肩膀
• 嫩臉／嫩脸
• 嫩芽 (nènyá)
• 嫩苗
• 嫩葉／嫩叶 (nènyè)
• 嫩骨頭／嫩骨头
• 嫩黃／嫩黄
• 嬌嫩／娇嫩 (jiāonèn)
• 嬌皮嫩肉／娇皮嫩肉
• 少女嫩婦／少女嫩妇 (shàonǚ nènfù)
• 柔嫩 (róunèn)
• 柔枝嫩葉／柔枝嫩叶
• 皮嬌肉嫩／皮娇肉嫩
• 稚嫩 (zhìnèn)
• 粉嫩 (fěnnèn)
• 細嫩／细嫩 (xìnèn)
• 臉嫩／脸嫩
• 面嫩
• 香嬌玉嫩／香娇玉嫩
• 鮮嫩／鲜嫩 (xiānnèn)

 

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): nèn (nen⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄣˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): nyun⁶
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): nun
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): lūn

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: nèn
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄣˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: nèn
    • Wade–Giles: nên⁴
    • Yale: nèn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: nenn
    • Palladius: нэнь (nɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nən⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: nyun⁶
    • Yale: nyuhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: nyn⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: nün⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nyːn²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: nun
    • Hakka Romanization System: nun
    • Hagfa Pinyim: nun⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /nun⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lūn
    • Tâi-lô: lūn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: lun
    • IPA (Xiamen): /lun²²/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /lun⁴¹/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /lun²²/
    • IPA (Taipei): /lun³³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lun³³/

Definitions

嫩

1. Used in transcription.
2. (Protestantism) Nun (father of Joshua)

Synonyms

• (Nun): (Catholicism) 農／农 (Nóng)

Compounds

• 黎巴嫩 (Líbānèn)

 

References

• “嫩”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• zi.tools

Japanese

Kanji

嫩

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. young
2. weak

Readings

• Go-on: のん (non)
• Kan-on: どん (don)
• Kun: わかい (wakai, 嫩い)

Compounds

Compounds

• 稚嫩(ちどん) (chidon): youth and tenderness
• 嫩芽(どんが) (donga): young shoot
• 嫩草(どんそう) (donsō) young grass
• 嫩葉(どんよう) (don'yō): young leaves
• 嫩緑(どんりょく) (donryoku): tender green

Korean

Hanja

嫩 (eumhun 어릴 눈 (eoril nun))

1. soft, tender, delicate
2. young

Vietnamese

Han character

嫩: Hán Nôm readings: non, nộn, nỏn, nồn, nõn, nọn

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

• Nom Foundation