宁 (níng) is a Chinese character meaning “peaceful”. It is written from 宀 (roof) and 丁 (fourth heavenly stem; adult male), one above the other, and takes 5 strokes. It has a second reading, nìng, which turns up in 宁可 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “peaceful”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
宀 + 丁
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：宀 3 画 + 丁 2 画 = 5 画）
Memory aid
Under a roof (宀), one nail (丁) holds everything in place — nothing rattles, nothing shifts. That steady quiet is 宁.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 安宁ān níngpeaceful; tranquil宁 = níng
- 宁静níng jìngquiet; calm; serene宁 = níng
- 辽宁liáo níngLiaoning (a province in northeast China)宁 = níng
Go deeper
All readings
peaceful
peaceful; calm; quiet; settled
平安；安定；安静。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 安宁ān níngpeaceful; tranquil宁 = níng
- 宁静níng jìngquiet; calm; serene宁 = níng
- 辽宁liáo níngLiaoning (a province in northeast China)宁 = níng
would rather
would rather; prefer to (in 宁可 / 宁愿)
宁愿；表示比较得失后作出的选择。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 宁可nìng kěwould rather; prefer to宁 = nìng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 宁 mean?
宁 (níng) means peaceful; calm; quiet; settled.
How do you pronounce 宁?
Its main reading is níng. It also has a second reading, nìng, which only shows up in certain words such as 宁可 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 宁 sometimes pronounced nìng?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 宁可 it is read nìng.
What parts is 宁 made of?
宀 (roof) and 丁 (fourth heavenly stem; adult male), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：宀 3 画 + 丁 2 画 = 5 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 宁 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 宁?
宀. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 宁?
Common ones are 安宁 and 宁静. The reading of 宁 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.