腻 (nì) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

腻

nì[ni4]Tone 4

greasy

HSK 7

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膩

Guru Deep Dive

English · greasy

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (月) is narrower and compressed to leave ample room for the complex right component (贰).

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 膩 by replacing the traditional right-side phonetic component with a simplified version of 贰 (èr).

1. Meaning

greasy, oily

smooth and delicatecloying or overly sweetintimate or overly attachedfed up with, bored of

AdjectiveNeutral#food texture#interpersonal relationships#emotions

Sample Usage

这个菜太腻了。
Zhège cài tài nì le.
This dish is too greasy.
别那么腻歪。
Bié nàme nìwai.
Don't be so overly affectionate/clingy.

2. Sound

/[ni⁵¹]/Tone: 51

腻

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 as in 'no'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Air passes completely through nose.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tip of tongue touches the alveolar ridge just behind the upper front teeth.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: -ee rhyme as 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 starts high and plunges sharply downward, much like an emphatic 'No!' in English.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the falling Tone 4 (nì) with Tone 1 (nī) or Tone 3 (nǐ). Ensure the pitch drops decisively from high to low.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp nod downward or a karate chop descending from high to low, matching the rapid drop of Tone 4.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (月) is narrower and compressed to leave ample room for the complex right component (贰).

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 膩 by replacing the traditional right-side phonetic component with a simplified version of 贰 (èr).

4. Components

Radical 月 · Meat/Flesh Radical (Meat or body parts (when written on the left as 月, originally 肉))

Semantic Clue (形旁): 月 (Indicates flesh, fat, or body texture)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 贰 (original sound: èr / ni)

Flesh/fat (月) combined with a phonetic element giving the sound 'ni' creates the concept of greasy food or feeling overly saturated.

月 Flesh / fat
贰 Phonetic indicator of sound

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 贰 (èr)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined the radical for meat/fat (肉/月) with a phonetic sound-alike to represent oily food and greasy textures.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to greasy or oily food, later extended metaphorically to describe overly clingy relationships, smooth textures, and being tired or fed up with something.

The meat radical 月 is often referred to as 'moon' in modern shapes, but in Chinese character etymology, when on the left, it almost always represents meat (肉).

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine eating a piece of meat (月) that is so dripping with oil and fat that you feel sick of it and want to shout 'Nein!' (nì).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

贰

èrtwo (banker's anti-fraud numeral); to betrayPhonetic Core (声旁)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

泥(ní)

泥 uses the water radical (氵) for mud, whereas 腻 uses the meat radical (月) for grease and fat.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这块红烧肉太[___]了，我吃不下。

Clue: nì

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the meat radical (月) on the left with water (氵), leading to confusion with characters like 泥 (mud).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 腻 mean when describing food versus relationships?

Production: How do you write the character for 'greasy' using the meat radical?

腻nìgreasy

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