拧 (níng) is a Chinese character meaning “to wring (a wet cloth)”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 宁 (peaceful; calm (also used as a sound component)), side by side, and takes 8 strokes. It has a second reading, nǐng, which turns up in 拧开 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “to wring out a wet towel”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
扌 + 宁
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「扌」，笔画 3–7 为「宁」）
Memory aid
The hand (扌) stands on the left doing the twisting; 宁 níng sits on the right and tells you the sound: níng.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 拧干níng gānto wring dry拧 = níng
Go deeper
All readings
to wring; to twist
to wring (a wet cloth); to twist something between the hands
用两只手握住东西向相反方向转动，多指把湿的东西里的水挤出来。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 拧干níng gānto wring dry拧 = níng
to turn; to twist (a knob, cap or screw)
to turn or twist something with the hand, e.g. a bottle cap, a knob or a screw
用手转动瓶盖、螺丝、开关等。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 拧开nǐng kāito twist open; to unscrew拧 = nǐng
Rare readings, not taught: nìng
Sound component
宁 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 拧 mean?
拧 (níng) means to wring (a wet cloth); to twist something between the hands.
How do you pronounce 拧?
Its main reading is níng. It also has a second reading, nǐng, which only shows up in certain words such as 拧开 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 拧 sometimes pronounced nǐng?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 拧开 it is read nǐng.
What parts is 拧 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 宁 (peaceful; calm (also used as a sound component)), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「扌」，笔画 3–7 为「宁」）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 拧 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 拧?
手. 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 拧?
Common ones are 拧干. The reading of 拧 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.