匿 (nì) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

匿

nì[ni4]Tone 4

to hide

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · to hide

Cached lesson

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Topology:Full enclosure

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The outer enclosure (匚) must be drawn with a strong, balanced angle, leaving ample breathing room inside for the inner components to avoid a cramped look.

1. Meaning

to hide, to conceal, to go into hiding

secretstealthy

VerbFormal / LiteraryBound morpheme#action#concealment#behavior

Sample Usage

隐匿
yǐnnì
to conceal, to hide away
藏匿
cángnì
to harbor, to go into hiding

2. Sound

/[ni⁵¹]/Tone: 51

匿

nìni4

`(51)

=nì

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Alveolar Nasal

Sounds like: n sound like in 'nice'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Air passes completely through nose.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip pressed against the alveolar ridge behind the upper front teeth.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: ee sound like in 'bee'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ee'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 is a strong, abrupt drop from high pitch to low pitch, matching an emphatic English 'No!'.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the sharp falling tone 4 with the rising tone 2 (ní), which completely changes the pitch contour.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 4 starts high and chops downward abruptly, like a sharp nod of agreement or a definitive command to stop.

3. Writing

Topology: Full enclosure · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The outer enclosure (匚) must be drawn with a strong, balanced angle, leaving ample breathing room inside for the inner components to avoid a cramped look.

4. Components

Radical 匚 · Hiding Box Radical (Box, enclosure, hiding place)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 匚 (Indicates an enclosure or hiding container)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 若 (original sound: ruò / ni)

A person or object is placed inside a box (匚) and under cover (若), signifying being hidden or concealed out of sight.

匚 Box or container acting as a hiding place
若 Provides the phonetic hint and contributes to the idea of a covered entity

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 匿 (nì)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted something placed inside a hidden container or enclosure (匚) with phonetic elements indicating the sound 'ni'.

Semantic Evolution: The meaning has remained remarkably consistent over millennia, centering entirely around hiding, concealing, and keeping secrets.

Often used in classical and legal texts regarding concealment of evidence or fugitives.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: デキ (deki) / ニク (niku) / Kun: kakusu

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

익

Sound Shift Bridge: The initial 'n' and final '-i' parallel cognate patterns in East Asian borrowing contexts where applicable.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a spy hiding inside a special box (匚) under a disguise, remaining completely secret so nobody can find him.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

暱

+ 日 (sun)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

若(ruò)

匿 uses the box radical 匚 for hiding; 若 uses the grass radical 艹 on top.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

罪犯为了逃避法律的制裁，选择在偏远的山村[___]起来。

Clue: nì

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the inner components with similar characters like 若 and failing to maintain the correct proportions of the outer box 匚.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 匿 mean and how is it pronounced with tone?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to hide' (nì) using the box enclosure radical?

匿nìto hide

Speed:

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