玩弄 wánnòng to play with
to play with; to toy with; to dally with; to engage in; to resort to
How to remember 玩弄: 玩 play + 弄 do = to play with.
Characters
How it is used
- To toy with / manipulate, mostly negative - 玩弄感情 (wánnòng gǎnqíng) to trifle with someone's feelings; 玩弄权术 (wánnòng quánshù) to play power games.
- Not innocent 'play' like 玩 (wán): 玩弄 implies cynical manipulation of people, tricks, or words (玩弄手段, 玩弄辞藻).
- Can also mean literally fiddling with an object in hand, but the manipulative human sense dominates.