嫩 is also the simplified spelling of 嫰.

嫩

Mandarin · pinyin nèn

Meanings

  1. young and tender
  2. (of food) tender; lightly cooked
  3. (of color) light
  4. (of a person) inexperienced; unskilled
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

嫩
nèn · soft, tender, delicate; young
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4 · nen4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link4same-tone records
Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

嫩 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

nyun6

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

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

character · Etymology 1

  1. tender; delicate
  2. inexperienced; unskilled
  3. (of food) tender; soft
  4. (of colour) light
  5. (Eastern Min) small

character · Etymology 2

  1. Used in transcription.
  2. (Protestantism) Nun (father of Joshua)

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack