撥弄

简 拨弄 · 繁 撥弄
Mandarin · pinyin bō nòng

Meanings

  1. to move to and fro (with hand, foot, stick etc)
  2. to fiddle with
  3. to stir up
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Characters in this entry

撥
Look up this written character
弄
nòng · do, play or fiddle with; alley
拨
bō · move; dispel; distribute
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–4 · bo1 nong4

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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.

撥弄 · find source passages ↗ · 拨弄 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

verb

  1. to move something to and fro (with the hand, foot, etc.); to fiddle with; to play with; to pluck
  2. to order about; to toy with
  3. to stir up; to instigate

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

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