哪吒

Nézhā

popculture

Meanings

1 Nezha
2 rebellious child-deity in Chinese mythology; protection god with wind-fire wheels and a fire-tipped spear

Characters

(used in the name Nezha)

(used in the name Nezha)

Examples

哪吒脚踏风火轮,手持火尖枪。

Nézhā jiǎo tà fēnghuǒlún, shǒu chí huǒjiānqiāng.

Nezha stands on wind-fire wheels and wields the fire-tipped spear.

《哪吒之魔童降世》票房创了纪录。

《Nézhā Zhī Mótóng Jiàngshì》piàofáng chuàng le jìlù.

Ne Zha: The Demon Child Is Born broke box office records.

小孩子都很喜欢哪吒的故事。

Xiǎo háizi dōu hěn xǐhuān Nézhā de gùshì.

Kids all love the Nezha story.

Tips

culture

Figure from 《封神演义》 and 《西游记》. Famously "cut his own flesh to return to his mother and bones to his father" (削肉还母、剔骨还父) to absolve his family of debt, then was resurrected from lotus flowers by his master 太乙真人. 2019's animated 《哪吒之魔童降世》 made him mainstream again, becoming China's then-highest-grossing animation.

mistakes

Pronounced Nézhā, not Nǎzhā despite the character 哪 most commonly reading nǎ/nà in modern Mandarin.

In Pop Culture

封神演义 Fēngshén Yǎnyì

Investiture of the Gods

Ming dynasty novel where Nezha's origin story is elaborated; source of many Chinese mythological figures.

哪吒之魔童降世 Nézhā Zhī Mótóng Jiàngshì

Ne Zha (2019 film)

Animated blockbuster that reframed Nezha as a misunderstood demon-child; grossed over 5 billion RMB.

Stroke Order

哪 nǎ

吒 zhā