捏
Meanings
- to pinch (with one's fingers)
- to knead
- to make up
- to mold
- to bring together
- to fabricate
- to cook up
- to clench
About these definitions
Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.
Reading & tones
Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.
Same syllable, six tones
Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.
Written characters
Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.
Mandarin comparison · separate source entries
CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:
- 捏 niē CC-CEDICT · Mandarinto hold between the thumb and fingers; to pinch; to mold (using the fingers); to hold (lit. in one's hand and fig.); to join together; to fabricate (a story, a report, etc)
A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.
CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: nie1. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.
Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 19 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
nip6
Cantonese word readings for 捏. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
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
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack