nat6訥讷

Jyutpingnat6

Yalenaht

Definition

To speak slowly or to stammer.

colloquialcommunicationdescriptions

How it's used

This character is rarely used in its original literary sense of being slow of speech in modern spoken Cantonese. It is almost exclusively encountered in the compound 訥訥， which describes someone who is socially awkward or hesitant to express themselves. In casual conversation, people are much more likely to use 結巴 or 講嘢唔順口 to describe the same behavior.

Examples

keoi5佢gong2講je5嘢hou2好nat6訥，seng4成jat6日gong2講m4唔ceot1出geoi3句jyun4完zing2整ge3嘅。

He speaks very slowly and often cannot finish a complete sentence.

nei5你sai2使mat1乜gam3咁nat6訥aa4呀，zik6直zip3接gong2講ceot1出lai4嚟laa1啦。

Why are you stammering so much? Just say it directly.

Common phrases

hesitant or awkward in speech

Common mistake

Do not confuse this with 納, which is common in words like 接納 or 納稅. The character 訥 is strictly related to speech patterns and is not interchangeable with other characters sharing the same phonetic component.