泥泞 (ní nìng) — muddy | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Adjective describing ground or surfaces covered in soft, wet mud. Unlike 混浊 (used for liquids or air), 泥泞 only describes terrain.

adjective

muddy

Examples

，泥泞。
Yǔ hòu, ní nìng de dào lù ràng chē liàng hěn nán tōng xíng.
After the rain, the muddy road made it hard for vehicles to pass.
泥泞。
Tā men zài ní nìng de shān lù shang zǒu le liǎng gè xiǎo shí.
They walked for two hours on the muddy mountain path.
泥泞。
Zhè piàn ní nìng de tǔ dì bú shì hé gēng zhòng.
This muddy land is not suitable for farming.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

泞nìngmuddy/slippery

泥泞 joins 泥 (mud) with 泞 (muddy/slippery) to describe a soft, wet surface.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

氵尼泥

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

尼

尼ní泥nì

Same sound today

The left side is 氵, the water part; the right side is 尼, which gives the sound.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Texture & Quality

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