木讷 (mù nè) — (of a person) honest but slow of speech; inarticulate yet sincere

Definition

木讷 describes a person who is honest and sincere but slow and awkward in speech — not the same as 沉默 (simply quiet) or 笨 (unintelligent); it always pairs sincerity with clumsiness in expression.

adjective
(of a person) honest but slow of speechinarticulate yet sincere

Examples

  • ，木讷，。
    Tā píng shí huà bù duō, kàn qǐ lái yǒu diǎn mù nè, qí shí xīn lǐ shén me dōu míng bai.
    He doesn't talk much and seems a bit inarticulate, but actually he understands everything.
  • 木讷，。
    Bié kàn tā wài biǎo mù nè, xiě qǐ wén zhāng lái què hěn yǒu shēn dù.
    Don't judge by his reserved appearance — when he writes, his essays are very profound.
  • 木讷，，。
    Zhè wèi jiào shòu wèi rén mù nè, cóng bù kuā kuā qí tán, dàn xué shēng dōu hěn jìng zhòng tā.
    This professor is honest and slow of speech, never boastful, yet his students all respect him deeply.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

木mùwooden
讷nèslow to speak

木 means wooden, 讷 means slow to speak, together describing a dull person.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

木 is drawn as a tree, with branches above and roots below.

Open 木 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 訥; 讷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
內
內nèi訥nè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 訥 pairs 言 (speech) with 內 to give the sound; the simplified 讷 is a later shorthand.

Open 讷 →

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