nèn
adjective HSK 7-9 #7,421

Meanings

  1. 1 tender
  2. 2 soft
  3. 3 young and inexperienced

Examples

Zhèkuài niúròu hěn nèn.
This piece of beef is very tender.
Chūntiān de nènyá tèbié hǎokàn.
The tender buds in spring are especially beautiful.

Tips

usage
can describe food texture (tender), plant growth (young/fresh), skin (soft/delicate), or a person's inexperience (green/raw). Context determines the meaning.

Components

radical
woman
Left woman radical — a kneeling figure with crossed arms. Carries the meaning here: describes the soft, delicate, youthful quality of tender meat, fresh greens, baby skin, and gentle complexion. Indexes the character in the same family as wonderful, delicate, graceful.
phonetic
chì
imperial decree (here phonetic)
Right side supplies the sound — chì drifting to nèn through an old phonetic series shared with to be lazy. The 'imperial decree' meaning is not active; is purely a sound tag, paired with the woman radical to fix the 'soft, fresh, youthful' core sense of .

Stroke Order

nèn