懦

nuò

adjective #63,500

Meanings

HSK 5

他太懦弱，不敢说真话。

Tā tài nuòruò, bùgǎn shuō zhēnhuà.

He is too cowardly to dare to speak the truth.

HSK 6

这样的懦夫成不了大事。

Zhèyàng de nuòfū chéng bù liǎo dàshì.

A coward like this can accomplish nothing.

usage

Bound character: 懦弱 (cowardly, weak) and 懦夫 (a coward). The heart radical 忄 marks it as a trait of character, not physical weakness.

radical

忄 xīn

heart (left-side form)

Left-side heart radical 忄, the upright form of 心. Cowardice is a quality of the heart and will, which the heart radical signals in 懦.

phonetic

需 xū

to need; require

Right side 需 supplies the sound (xū shifting to nuò). It is purely phonetic here. The same phonetic gives 儒 and 孺.

懦 nuò