闹着玩 (nào zhe wán) — to play around, to joke; to do something for fu…

Definition

A colloquial expression meaning 'to joke around / not be serious.' Often used to downplay one's own action or to tell someone to stop fooling around.

verb

to play aroundto joketo do something for fun (not seriously)

闹着玩，。
Bié nào zhe wán le, wǒ men yào rèn zhēn gōng zuò.
Don't joke around, we need to work seriously.
闹着玩，。
Wǒ zhǐ shì nào zhe wán, nǐ bié shēng qì.
I was just joking, don't be angry.
闹着玩。
Tā nào zhe wán shì de jiù bǎ wèn tí jiě jué le.
He solved the problem as if he was just playing around.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鬧; 闹 is its simplified writing.

鬥市鬧

The traditional form 鬧 combines 鬥 (to fight) and 市 (market; town) to mean noisy.

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 著; 着 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艸艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

者

者zhě著zháo

Same sound today

The traditional form 著 puts 艸 (grass; plant) above 者, which gives the sound; the simplified 着 is a later shorthand.

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

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

元

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

玩 pairs 玉 (jade) with 元 (yuán) for sound. The jade part points to toys made of jade.