DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
泥
Characters in this entry
- 泥
- ní · mud, mire; earth, clay; plaster
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
2 · ni2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link29same-tone records
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 17 senses · 4 Cantonese readings
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
nai4 · nai5 · nai6 · nei6
Cantonese word readings for 泥. 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
- mud (Classifier: 嚿 c; 坺 c)
- (dialectal) soil; earth
- any mush-like substance
- (obsolete) paint (used on walls)
- an ancient river in modern Hunan
- an ancient river in modern Gansu
- (obsolete) weak
- (Chinese mythology) a kind of animal that lived in sea
- a surname
- (～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 泥 (MC nej)
character · Etymology 2
- to hold up; to bog down
- to plaster; to cover with plaster
- stubborn; obstinate
- to pester using soft words
- to be obsessed with and be reluctant to let go of
character · Etymology 3
- only used in 泥泥
character · Etymology 4
- only used in 泥母
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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