manage, handle

is composed of and (hands joined). is the picture of counting rods, while is the picture of two hands, so depicts two hands arranging counting rods for calculation. The original meaning of is counting rods, but such meaning has been replaced by and , now means managing and playing with something.

Vocabulary of 弄

  • 戲弄 (to play tricks on)
  • 弄髒 (to make dirty)
  • 弄權 (excesses)

Classification

Related Characters: