How to Write 恼 (nǎo) — Meaning “Annoyed or angry.”

Imagine your heart (忄) is troubled by a messy room—the right side 㐫 looks like a tangled shape. When things are chaotic and messy, you feel annoyed or angry. So 恼 is your heart reacting to a mess.

Write the left radical 忄 as a vertical line with two dots: the left dot first, then the vertical stroke, then the right dot. The right part starts with a left-falling stroke, then a horizontal, and ends with a downward hook. Make sure the right side is slightly narrower than the left heart radical, and keep the total width balanced.

忡 (chōng) means a heavy heart or sorrow, using the same heart radical but with a different phonetic (中). 忤 (wǔ) means to oppose or be disobedient, and its right side (午) suggests going against. In contrast, 恼 specifically expresses irritation or anger, not sadness or defiance.

恼 is used in words like 烦恼 (annoyed and worried) and 恼火 (irritated). It describes feeling bothered or upset, often by small troubles. In Chinese culture, expressing 恼 is common in daily conversation, but strong anger is usually shown with stronger words like 怒 (nù).

Common words containing 恼 include: 烦恼 (fán nǎo) — Worried or troubled; 苦恼 (kǔ nǎo) — Distressed / vexed; 恼火 (nǎo huǒ) — Annoyed or irritated..