How to Write 呶 (náo) — Meaning “to pout / look!”

Imagine a slave (奴) opening their mouth (口) to pout or yell "No!" — the sound "náo" sounds like "now," as in "pout your mouth now!" This links the components to the meanings of pouting or drawing attention.

Start with the left radical 口, which should be a narrow square, not too wide. Then write 奴 on the right: first the 女 (woman) part with two strokes, then the 又 (right hand) with two more strokes — make sure the 又 is slightly below the 女 to keep the character balanced.

吁 (xū) means "to sigh" or "shush" and has 于 inside, while 吂 (máng) means "unintelligible" and has 亡 inside. 呶 uses 奴 and specifically means pouting or chattering, whereas 吁 is for sighs and 吂 for unclear speech.

呶 is rare in daily conversation but appears in the idiom 呶呶不休 (náo náo bù xiū), meaning to chatter nonstop. It's often used to describe someone who talks too much, sometimes with a negative tone, and you might see it in literature rather than spoken Chinese.

Common words containing 呶 include: 呶呶不休 (náo náo bù xiū) — to chatter incessantly; 喧呶 (xuān náo) — Clamorous; 呶呶 (náo náo) — chattering / talkative.