弄 from HSK Level 2 Vocabulary List

The Chinese character 弄 (nòng) is composed of two parts: the radical 扌(shǒu), which indicates that the character is related to hand or action, and the phonetic component 夢 (mèng), which gives the character its pronunciation. The original meaning of 弄 is "to play" or "to amuse oneself". In modern Chinese, it can also mean "to do" or "to manage".The character 弄 first appeared in oracle bone inscriptions from the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). In these inscriptions, it was used as a verb meaning "to play" or "to amuse oneself". For example, one oracle bone inscription records the sentence "The king is playing with his ministers", where the character 弄 is used to describe the king's activity.In the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), the character 弄 began to be used in a more general sense, meaning "to do" or "to manage". For example, the famous Han Dynasty historian Sima Qian used the character 弄 to describe how the emperor managed his affairs of state.Over time, the character 弄 has developed a wide range of meanings, including "to play", "to amuse oneself", "to do", "to manage", and "to meddle". It is a versatile character that can be used in a variety of contexts.