Definition
嫩 (nèn) primarily describes food that is tender and easy to chew, but it also extends to light colors and inexperienced people. It contrasts with 稚嫩 (zhì nèn), which focuses on youthful appearance or immature ideas, and with 青 (qīng), which means 'young' mainly for plants. Unlike 温柔 (wēn róu), which describes a gentle personality, 嫩 is never used for character traits.
adjective
tender (of food, vegetables, meat, etc.)lightsoft (of colors)inexperiencedgreen (of a person)
Easily confused
- 整zhěnglook-alikewhole, entire, complete
Examples
- 嫩,。Zhèxiē qīngcài nèn jí le, rùkǒu jiù zhīdào xīnxiān.These greens are extremely tender; you can tell they're fresh as soon as you taste them.
- 嫩。Tā chuān le yí jiàn nèn lǜsè de chènshān.She wore a light green shirt.
- 嫩,。Tā hái tài nèn, bù néng chéngdān zhème zhòngyào de rènwù.He is still too inexperienced to take on such an important task.
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