妮 (nī) is a Chinese character meaning “girl”. It is written from 女 (woman; female) and 尼 (Buddhist nun; (here) sound component ní), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “girl”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
女 + 尼
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分 ⿰女尼，经 hanzi-writer 笔画核验（女 3 画 + 尼 5 画 = 8 画）；声符 尼 ní 与字音 nī 相合
Memory aid
The left half, 女 (woman), tells you this character is about a girl. The right half, 尼 (ní), is not adding meaning here — it is carrying the sound: ní → nī. Both parts are really in the character; only their jobs differ.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 妮子nī zigirl; lass妮 = nī
Go deeper
All readings
girl
girl; lass (used in 妮子)
女孩子；多用于「妮子」，带亲切口语色彩。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 妮子nī zigirl; lass妮 = nī
Sound component
尼 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 妮 mean?
妮 (nī) means girl; lass (used in 妮子).
How do you pronounce 妮?
It is pronounced nī.
What parts is 妮 made of?
女 (woman; female) and 尼 (Buddhist nun; (here) sound component ní), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分 ⿰女尼，经 hanzi-writer 笔画核验（女 3 画 + 尼 5 画 = 8 画）；声符 尼 ní 与字音 nī 相合. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 妮 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 妮?
女. 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 妮?
Common ones are 妮子. The reading of 妮 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.