Writing Balance Rule: The left component (女) occupies about one-third to half of the horizontal space, leaving the right component (又) balanced on the right side without crowding.
1. Meaning
slave
servantderogatory or self-deprecating suffix for someone devoted to an activity (e.g., tech slave, cat slave)
NounNeutral in historical terms, but often used colloquially and humorously in modern slang as a suffix#society#people#history
Sample Usage
奴隶
nú lì
slave
猫奴
māo nú
cat slave (devoted cat owner)
2. Sound
/[nu³⁵]/Tone: 35
奴
núnu2
|
++
´(35)
=nú
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
nu
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "u" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
n
Type: Alveolar Nasal
Sounds like: n sound as in 'no'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Air passes completely through nose.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tip of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge behind the upper front teeth while air flows through the nose.
Final Rhyme
u
Vowel Group: -u vowel group
Sounds like: u rhymes with 'oo' in 'boot'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oo'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T2 (35)
3 → 5 (35)
2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises like asking a question in English ('What?').
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 2 syllable, the tone shifts to a high rising or semi-third tone pattern depending on speed, though standard dictionary tone remains Tone 2.
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Listening trap: Confusing the rising Tone 2 (nú) with the dipping Tone 3 (nǔ) or falling Tone 4 (nù).
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Physical Tone Gesture: Make a hand gesture starting at chest level and moving diagonally upward to the right, matching the rising pitch of Tone 2.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 5 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left component (女) occupies about one-third to half of the horizontal space, leaving the right component (又) balanced on the right side without crowding.
4. Components
Radical女 · Woman Radical (woman, female)
Semantic Clue (形旁):女 (Indicates a person, historically implying female servants or captives in ancient times.)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):又 (original sound: yòu)
A woman (女) being restrained or controlled by a hand (又), representing the historical concept of subjugation or servitude.
女 woman
又 right hand / grasping hand
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
9· Phonetic Root: 奴 (nú)
5. History
Liushu category: Compound ideogram (会意)
Origin: Originally depicted a woman (女) with a hand (又) over or controlling her, representing captives or enslaved women in early Chinese society.
Semantic Evolution: Expanded from meaning specifically enslaved women or female captives to mean slaves and servants of either gender, and in modern times, an affectionate or self-deprecating slang suffix for obsessive devotion.
In ancient agrarian and feudal societies, captured enemies or criminals were often reduced to household or state servitude.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
nô
Matches the flat/smooth historical entry tone, corresponding to modern rising tones in Vietnamese derivatives.
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Kanji (Japanese)
On: ド (do) / Kun: 奴 (やつ / yakko)
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Hanja (Korean)
노
Sound Shift Bridge: The initial 'n' and final vowel 'u' match across cognates in neighboring linguistic spheres.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
A woman (女) is grabbed by a working hand (又) and forced into labor as a slave (奴).