泥 (ní) is a Chinese character meaning “mud”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 尼 (Buddhist nun; (here) sound component ní), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “mud”
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Structure
氵 + 尼
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字「泥，水……从水尼聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵尼，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–7 与「尼」逐笔对应（3+5=8画）
Memory aid
Water (氵) on the left says this is something wet; 尼 on the right is only lending its sound, ní. Wet ground turns into mud.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 泥土ní tǔsoil; earth泥 = ní
- 泥坑ní kēngmud pit; mire泥 = ní
- 泥泞ní nìngmuddy; miry; mud泥 = ní
- 淤泥yū nísilt; sludge; mud泥 = ní
Go deeper
All readings
mud
mud; mire; soft wet earth; a paste made by crushing something
含水的松软土；也指像泥一样的糊状物。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 泥土ní tǔsoil; earth泥 = ní
- 泥坑ní kēngmud pit; mire泥 = ní
- 泥泞ní nìngmuddy; miry; mud泥 = ní
- 淤泥yū nísilt; sludge; mud泥 = ní
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 泥 mean?
泥 (ní) means mud; mire; soft wet earth; a paste made by crushing something.
How do you pronounce 泥?
It is pronounced ní.
What parts is 泥 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 尼 (Buddhist nun; (here) sound component ní), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「泥，水……从水尼聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵尼，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–7 与「尼」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 泥 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 泥?
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 泥?
Common ones are 泥土 and 泥坑. The reading of 泥 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.