How to Write 呢 (ne/ní) — Meaning “particle for questions or indicating state”

Imagine a person opening their mouth (口) and pointing to their knee (尼 sounds like 'knee') while asking 'ne?' This visual of mouth + knee helps you recall both the shape and the sound of 呢.

Write the mouth radical 口 small and positioned on the upper-left side, then add 尼 with a short 'corpse' stroke (尸) and finally the 'spoon' component (匕). A common mistake is making the 口 too large or misplacing the dot inside 尼—keep the overall character balanced.

呢 has 口 + 尼 and is a particle, while 吁 (xū) has 口 + 于 and means 'to sigh' or 'shoo'. 吂 (máng) has 口 + 亡 and is rarely used today. Visually, 呢’s right side is 尼 (with a 'corpse' and 'spoon'), 吁’s is 于 (a different stroke order), and 吂’s is 亡 on top of 口.

呢 is a common particle placed at the end of sentences to form questions (e.g., 你呢？'And you?') or to indicate an ongoing state (e.g., 在呢 'I am here'). It adds a soft, conversational tone and is culturally important for polite daily interactions.

Common words containing 呢 include: 在呢 (zài ne) — I'm here; it's here; 哪儿呢 (nǎ ér ne) — Where is it?; 呢喃 (ní nán) — to murmur / twittering.