腻 (nì) — greasy, oily (of food); bored, fed up, tired of (from overindulgence or repetition)
Definition
腻 (nì) is an adjective used only in two situations: food that is too greasy or oily, and the boredom of having too much of something (often food, sometimes a person or topic). It implies excess and a resulting aversion, not a mild dislike.
adjective
greasyoily (of food)boredfed uptired of (from overindulgence or repetition)
Examples
- ，腻。Lián xù chī le sān tiān huǒ guō, wǒ yǒu diǎn nì le.After eating hotpot three days in a row, I'm a bit tired of it.
- 腻，。Zhè zhǒng féi ròu tài nì le, wǒ bú tài xiǎng chī.This kind of fatty meat is too greasy; I don't really feel like eating it.
- ，腻。Tā zhěng tiān shuō tóng yàng de huà, ràng dà jiā dōu jué de hěn nì.He says the same things all day, making everyone feel quite fed up.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
This origin belongs to the traditional form 膩; 腻 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
貳
貳èr膩nì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 膩 pairs 肉, meat, with 貳 to indicate the pronunciation; the simplified 腻 is a later shorthand.
Appears in
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