泥 (ní) — mud; clay; paste/pulp

Definition

泥 is wet, soft earth — the wet mud you see after rain or in a riverbed. For dry soil or dirt use 土; for the general earth/dirt word (dry or wet) use 泥土.

noun
mudclaypaste/pulp

Examples

  • 泥。
    Yǔ hòu lù shang yǒu hěn duō ní.
    After the rain, there is a lot of mud on the road.
  • 泥。
    Tā yòng ní zuò le yí gè huā píng.
    He made a vase out of clay.
  • 。
    Tā xǐ huan chī tǔ dòu ní.
    He likes to eat mashed potatoes.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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

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.

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