DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

寧

简宁 · 繁寧

Mandarin · pinyin níng#

peaceful
to pacify
to visit (one's parents etc)

Mandarin · pinyin nìng#

would rather
to prefer
how (emphatic)
Taiwan pr. níng

Mandarin · pinyin Níng#

abbr. for Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region 寧夏回族自治區 Níng xià Huí zú Zì zhì qū
abbr. for Nanjing 南京 Nán jīng
surname Ning

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寧: Look up this written character
宁: níng · calm, peaceful, serene; healthy

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

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Mandarin tones

2 · ning2

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1character link20same-tone records

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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.

寧 · find source passages ↗ · 宁 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ning4 · ning6

Cantonese word readings for 寧. 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

peaceful; tranquil; serene; at peace
(literary) to stabilise; to pacify
(obsolete) to mourn for one's deceased parent
(literary, especially of married women) to visit one's parents
(alt-of, alternative, name) Alternative name for 江寧／江宁 (Jiāngníng, “old name for Nanjing”).
(alt-of, alternative, name) Alternative name for 寧夏／宁夏 (Níngxià, “Ningxia”).

character · Etymology 1

rather; would rather
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) could there be
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) such; like this; so
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) unexpectedly; in spite of everything
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) modal particle

character · Etymology 1

a surname

character · Etymology 2

(Northern Wu, especially Shanghainese, neologism) alternative form of 人

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

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