泥

泥 · ní

mud, mire; earth, clay; plaster

Entry ↗

Meanings & readings

Meaning & readings

mud, mire; earth, clay; plaster

Mandarin
ní
Cantonese
nai4

Unihan definitions and selected character readings. Read the word to establish its pronunciation in context.

Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese

Readings recorded for 泥 in other language traditions. These are character-level records, not word translations or interchangeable pronunciations.

Japanese 日本語

Grouped by the source’s kana notation; no frequency ranking is implied.

On’yomi · katakana

デイナイニョウデツネチ

Kun’yomi · hiragana

どろひじなずむ

Katakana generally indicates on’yomi; hiragana generally indicates kun’yomi. The source does not identify everyday, rare, historical or name use per reading. Kana strings are preserved, including any written endings; consult a Japanese word entry for actual use.

Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kJapanese ↗ · provisional property

デイ ナイ ニョウ デツ ネチ どろ ひじ なずむ

Korean 한국어

Hanja readings · Hangul

니이

Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.

Reading sources explained
니
KS X 1001 (0) · Educational Hanja (E)
이
KS X 1001 (0)
Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kHangul ↗ · provisional property

니:0E 이:0

Vietnamese Tiếng Việt

Character readings · Quốc ngữ

lầynenènénênềnểnễnệnơi

Vietnamese readings associated with this Han character. This field alone does not establish word meanings, current usage, or a complete account of Hán-Nôm reading traditions.

Source record & scope

Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kVietnamese ↗ · provisional property

lầy ne nè né nê nề nể nễ nệ nơi

Form & structure

Writing & identity

Unicode
U+6CE5
Radical
水 · 85
Strokes
8 · Unihan
Residual
5

Source record · Unihan 17.0. Individual senses and historical claims have not yet been reviewed by zimai.

Stroke order

8 strokes
泥
Strokes
8
Convention
PRC · Make Me a Hanzi

8 strokes in writing order. Play to watch them, or Step through one at a time.

Modern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. Stroke medians: Make Me a Hanzi via HanziLookupJS, drawn as an even pen line.

Graphical structure

⿰氵尼(GHTJKPV)
How to read these symbols

⿰ left–right · ⿱ above–below · ⿻ overlap. Dotted boxes indicate positions, not missing characters. Each symbol describes the components that follow it; nested symbols describe a component in more detail. Source codes identify alternative analyses, not a writing sequence or an etymology.

BabelStone IDS · 2025-06-27. Region tags are preserved; 〾 marks approximation and {n} identifies an unencoded source component. These describe graphical structure, not historical derivation.

Words & connections

Words using 泥

Character connections

No reverse component match in this collection.

Component roles · attributed

Source analyses, kept separate from modern IDS. CJKVI labels are not individually verified historical conclusions. Evidence & limits ↗

History & distinctions

Related forms

No simplified/traditional variant property is retained for this record.

Historical readings

Middle Chinese
nej · 奴低 反切 · #314
Middle Chinese
nejH · 奴計 反切 · #2381

Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.

Source row & reading categories

CSV line 2967 · nej = 蟹開四平齊泥 · nejH = 蟹開四去齊泥

Automatically generated in the source dataset; the authors checked a subset and acknowledge possible errors. All source readings are retained separately. Notation & method ↗

Sources & reference

Evidence & next depth

Source editions & exact scope ↗
Retained Unihan properties
kMandarin
ní
kCantonese
nai4
kDefinition
mud, mire; earth, clay; plaster
kTotalStrokes
8
kRSUnicode
85.5
kGradeLevel
1
kTGH
2013:1258

Readings across dictionaries

Hanyu Da Zidian
ní,nì,nǐ,niè,nìng 31595.080
Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
ní 0826.150 · nì 0829.080
Tongyong Guifan · 2013
ní 264.130 · nì 265.120
Mandarin / Cantonese · SMSZD
ní粵nai4 nì粵nei6
Small numbers locate dictionary entries; 粵 introduces Cantonese. Includes rare or historical readings. Source notation ↗

Reference desk

Sentences in context

Find examples using 泥 ↗

The attributed sentence collection is still small; this spelling has no retained example yet.

Study this character

Structure & connections

0.10
102dictionary records using 泥0forms using this shape1attributed sound links
⿰ Left / right

Shape description
氵 beside 尼 · the same shape in all seven regional standards (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam)
Source notation ^⿰氵尼$(GHTJKPV)
BabelStone · 2025-06-27. Encoded shape and region tags; graphical analysis does not establish historical function.

Decompose & trace ↗Browse all 102 word records ↗Explore sound families ↗Component search ↗
Retained descriptions & scope

^⿰氵尼$(GHTJKPV)

All alternatives are retained. Only the first description drives component search and graphical links. Counts describe this snapshot, not frequency. Evidence and method.