Definition
宁 (níng) is an adverb meaning 'would rather' — it expresses a choice between two options, often in a sacrificing or subjunctive tone. It appears in the pattern 宁…也不… ('would rather A than B'). In classical/literary Chinese, it can also mean 'could there be; surely not' (e.g. 宁有种乎? 'Could it be that some are born noble?'). As an adverb, it is a short form of 宁愿. (It is also a surname, but that is a noun use.)
adv.
(adv.) would rather(adv., literary) could there besurely not (in rhetorical questions)
Examples
- ，。Wǒ níng kě è sǐ, yě bù chī nà zhǒng dōngxi.I would rather starve to death than eat that kind of thing.
- ，。Tā níng yuàn yí ge rén chéngdān zérèn, yě bù liánlěi biérén.He would rather take responsibility alone than implicate others.
- 宁，。níng wéi yù suì, bù wéi wǎ quán.Better to be a broken piece of jade than a whole tile (idiom: prefer noble failure to ignoble survival).
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