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I came across this word 熱鬧 (In this case, it means very crowded, noisy, lively) in an exercise and it tells me to change it into English. But I can't really find a suitable and precise word to describe this (the three meanings combined).

Example sentence: 這個熱鬧、繁華的城市背後，是一大群生活在貧窮線之下的人。

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  • Like, examples?
    – 54D
    Commented Dec 22, 2014 at 4:12
  • Sometimes a perfect match just don't exist. Any one of the three words should be OK. You might even go for words like exuberant but it looks like an overkill..
    – Wang Dingwei
    Commented Dec 22, 2014 at 4:48
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    I would've thought bustling would be the best descriptor for crowded + noisy + lively?
    – Ming
    Commented Dec 22, 2014 at 5:20
  • It's hard to find a single word with all meanings of renao, especially with the "re" part.
    – Andrew
    Commented Jul 24, 2017 at 17:32

1 Answer 1

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According to 21 Century renao is an English word borrowed from the Chinese 熱鬧:

n. “热闹”；(文娱、体育、业余爱好等)热闹有趣的活动 [借用汉语拼音 rènào(热闹)]

so that should fit exactly what you're looking for but....

If that's not satisfactory enough consider:

  • lively
  • bustling
  • busy
  • thrilling
  • exciting (excitement)
  • noisy
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    Care to give me a link of "21 Century"?
    – 54D
    Commented Dec 22, 2014 at 4:15
  • It's a dictionary...《21世纪大英汉词典》I have it in my copy of Pleco (software).
    – Mou某 ♦
    Commented Dec 22, 2014 at 4:17
  • I see. This word is newly added into the dictionaries, isn't it? I can't find this English word in all kinds of dictionaries (of course, except your 21世纪大英汉词典).
    – 54D
    Commented Dec 22, 2014 at 4:20
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    I don't think that's correct about an English version of renao borrowed from the Chinese (I think 21C is just .. wrong,) I can't find any instances anywhere of it being used in English, but if it is, then it's nowhere near widespread enough for any English speakers to recognise it. I'd avoid using it.
    – Ming
    Commented Dec 23, 2014 at 0:07
  • "Renao" is totally not an English word. There are almost zero Mandarin words adopted by English.
    – Andrew
    Commented Jul 24, 2017 at 17:31

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