恼 (nǎo) is a Chinese character meaning “annoyed”. It is written from 忄 (heart (left-side form)) and 亠 (lid) and 凶 (inauspicious; fierce), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “annoyed; irritated”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
忄 + 亠 + 凶
Left–right structure
- 忄 heart (left-side form) · xīn meaning
- 亠 lid · tóu simplified form
- 凶 inauspicious; fierce · xiōng simplified form
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（简化字形 9 画：忄3 + 亠2 + 凶4）
Memory aid
A heart (忄) with a lid (亠) clamped over something fierce (凶) shut underneath. Nothing gets out, so it just simmers — that is being annoyed. All three parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 苦恼kǔ nǎodistressed; vexed; troubled恼 = nǎospoken askú nǎo
- 恼火nǎo huǒannoyed; irritated; angry恼 = nǎospoken asnáo huǒ
- 烦恼fán nǎoworry; to be vexed恼 = nǎo
Go deeper
All readings
annoyed; angry
annoyed; irritated; vexed; to be angry at; to upset someone
心里不痛快、生气；也指使人烦闷。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 苦恼kǔ nǎodistressed; vexed; troubled恼 = nǎospoken askú nǎo
- 恼火nǎo huǒannoyed; irritated; angry恼 = nǎospoken asnáo huǒ
- 烦恼fán nǎoworry; to be vexed恼 = nǎo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 恼 mean?
恼 (nǎo) means annoyed; irritated; vexed; to be angry at; to upset someone.
How do you pronounce 恼?
It is pronounced nǎo.
What parts is 恼 made of?
忄 (heart (left-side form)) and 亠 (lid) and 凶 (inauspicious; fierce), side by side. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（简化字形 9 画：忄3 + 亠2 + 凶4）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 恼 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 恼?
忄. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 恼?
Common ones are 苦恼 and 恼火. The reading of 恼 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.