恼怒 (nǎo nù) — to become angry, to be furious

Definition

A written/literary verb meaning 'to become angry', stronger and more formal than the everyday 生气. Often describes a sudden flare-up of anger (note 起来 in the examples).

verb
to become angryto be furious

Examples

  • ,恼怒。
    Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā fēi cháng nǎo nù.
    Upon hearing this news, he became very angry.
  • 恼怒。
    Tā yīn wèi hái zi bù tīng huà ér nǎo nù qǐ lái.
    She got angry because her child was disobedient.
  • 恼怒,。
    Bié nǎo nù, shì qing hái yǒu zhuǎn jī.
    Don't get angry; there's still a chance things will turn around.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

恼nǎoannoyed
怒nùangry

恼 and 怒 both express anger, so 恼怒 intensifies the feeling of being annoyed and furious.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 恼 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
奴
奴nú怒nù
Same sound today

怒 pairs 心 (heart) with 奴, which is used for its sound rather than its meaning of slave.

Open 怒 →

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