泥人

Mandarin · pinyin ní rén

Meanings

  1. clay figurine
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Characters in this entry

泥
ní · mud, mire; earth, clay; plaster
人
rén · man; people; mankind; someone else
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–2 · ni2 ren2

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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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

  1. clay figurine
  2. clay figurine — (specifically) pottery figurine; terracotta figure (used in ancient funerary art)

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

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