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孬

Mandarin · pinyin nāo

(dialect) contracted form of 不好 bù hǎo

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孬: nāo · bad; cowardly

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1 · nao1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bou2 · jai5 · naau1 · naau6

Cantonese word readings for 孬. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

(regional, informal) not good
(regional, informal) cowardly, contemptible
(Hangzhounese) cannot

character · Etymology 2

(Teochew, Zhao'an Hokkien) not good; bad; poor
(Teochew) rude; unreasonable
(Teochew) cannot; may not
(Teochew) don't

character · Etymology 3

(Sichuanese) not good; bad; inferior

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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