愚弄 (yú nòng) — to deceive and make a fool of; to dupe; to hoodwink

Definition

A formal verb meaning 'to fool / make a fool of,' implying deliberate deception of people. Stronger and more literary than casual 骗; pairs naturally with 人民、别人 as its object.

verb
to deceive and make a fool ofto dupeto hoodwink

Examples

  • ，愚弄。
    Tā yǐ wéi zì jǐ hěn cōng ming, qí shí yì zhí zài bèi yú nòng.
    He thinks he's very smart, but all along he's been duped.
  • 愚弄。
    Bú yào qīng yì xiāng xìn nà xiē yú nòng bié rén de huà.
    Don't easily believe those words that fool others.
  • 愚弄。
    Zhè zhǒng yú nòng rén mín de xíng wéi bì xū bèi jiē lù.
    Such behavior of fooling the people must be exposed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

愚yúfoolish
弄nòngplay; trick

“愚” (foolish) describes “弄” (play), giving the sense of making a fool of someone.

Characters in this word

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
禺
禺yú愚yú
Same sound today

愚 pairs 心 (heart) with 禺 for the sound; the heart part relates to the sense of foolishness.

Open 愚 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The form 弄 combines 玉 (jade) with 廾 (hands), showing hands touching or handling jade.

Open 弄 →

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