泞 (nìng) is a Chinese character meaning “muddy”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 宁 (peaceful; calm (also used as a sound component)), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “muddy”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
氵 + 宁
Left–right structure
- 氵 water (left-side form) · shuǐ meaning
- 宁 peaceful; calm (also used as a sound component) · níng sound
Structure from: 《说文解字》「濘，滎濘也。从水寧聲」；简化字 泞 = ⿰氵宁（宁 为 寧 的简化）。以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–7 与「宁」逐笔对应（3+5=8画）
Memory aid
Water (氵) has soaked the ground right up to the little house (宁) — every step there sinks into mud.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 泥泞ní nìngmuddy; miry; mud泞 = nìng
Go deeper
All readings
muddy
muddy; miry — used of ground turned to soft, sticky mud, almost always in the word 泥泞
烂泥；形容道路因积水而泥泞难行，多用于「泥泞」一词。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 泥泞ní nìngmuddy; miry; mud泞 = nìng
Sound component
宁 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 泞 mean?
泞 (nìng) means muddy; miry — used of ground turned to soft, sticky mud, almost always in the word 泥泞.
How do you pronounce 泞?
It is pronounced nìng.
What parts is 泞 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 宁 (peaceful; calm (also used as a sound component)), side by side. The recorded source is: 《说文解字》「濘，滎濘也。从水寧聲」；简化字 泞 = ⿰氵宁（宁 为 寧 的简化）。以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–7 与「宁」逐笔对应（3+5=8画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 泞 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 泞?
氵. 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 泞?
Common ones are 泥泞. The reading of 泞 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.