How to Write 氖 (nǎi) — Meaning “Neon”

Imagine a neon sign glowing at night: the left part 气 looks like a cloud of gas, and the right part 乃 sounds like "nigh" (as in "night"). So 氖 = gas that glows at night — neon.

Write 气 first with 4 strokes: left-falling, horizontal, right-falling hook, then a dot. Inside, write 乃 with 2 strokes: left-falling, then horizontal with a left hook. Make sure the hook of 气 curves properly and the 乃 fits snugly inside without touching the top.

气 (qì) is just the radical meaning "air" — it has no inner component. 氕 (piē) has a single slash 丿 inside 气 and means protium (hydrogen-1). 氖 (nǎi) has the two-stroke 乃 inside, meaning neon. Visually, 氖 is the only one with a small 乃 inside.

氖 is used in scientific contexts for the element neon (Ne), such as in 氖气 (neon gas) and 氖灯 (neon lamp). It is not common in daily speech but appears in textbooks and descriptions of neon lighting. Culturally, 氖灯 is associated with colorful city night signs.

Common words containing 氖 include: 氖灯 (nǎi dēng) — Neon lamp / Neon light; 氖气 (nǎi qì) — Neon gas; 氖管 (nǎi guǎn) — neon tube.