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捏

Mandarin · pinyin niē

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捏: niē · pick with fingers; knead; mold

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1 · nie1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

nip6

Cantonese word readings for 捏. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

to pick with fingers; to pinch
to clench; to hold in the hand; to grip
to knead
to mold; to bring together
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to fabricate; to concoct; to make up
(Quanzhou and Xiamen Hokkien) to press down with one's fingers

character · Etymology 2

(Southern Min) to grasp tightly; to squeeze
(Hokkien, Teochew) to pinch
(Hainanese) to hold (a pen, chopsticks, etc.)
(Malaysian and Singapore Hokkien) to press

character · Etymology 3

(Hokkien) to mold; to knead; to press with one's fingers into certain shapes (of soft objects)
(Hokkien, by extension) to bring up with great pains; to rear with difficulty (a child)
(Hokkien, figurative) to fabricate; to concoct; to make up (something false)
(Mainland China Hokkien, by extension) to do; to be engaged in (especially something negative)
(Taiwanese Hokkien) to fiddle with one's fingers
(Zhangzhou Hokkien) to pick with fingers; to pinch
(Zhangzhou Hokkien) to make it together
(Hokkien) a surname

character · Etymology 4

(Mandarin, Internet slang, usually women's speech) alternative form of 呢, which may also impart a softening effect, conveying emotions such as cuteness, coquettishness, playfulness, cheerfulness, or mildness

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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