How to Write 妮 (nī) — Meaning “girl; lass”

Imagine a girl (女) sitting on her knee — the sound 'ni' sounds like 'knee'. The right side 尼 looks like a person with bent legs, matching the knee idea. This helps you link the shape and sound.

First write 女 in three strokes: 撇点, 撇, 横. Then write 尼: start with 横折, 横, 撇 for the top part, then a 竖弯钩 (do not make it too sharp), and finish with a left-falling 撇. A common mistake is making the 竖弯钩 too angular or forgetting the final 撇.

All three share the 女 radical, but 奸 has 干 (gān, dry) meaning 'treacherous', and 她 has 也 (yě, also) meaning 'she'. 妮 uses 尼 and specifically refers to a girl or lass, often in informal or affectionate contexts. Visually, 妮 has a 尸-like top on the right, while 奸 has a simple 干 and 她 has 也.

妮 is not in the HSK vocabulary but appears in casual terms like 妮子 (nī zi, 'girl' or 'lass') and in transliterated foreign names such as 珍妮 (Zhēn nī, Jenny). It often carries a cute or familiar tone, especially in northern Chinese dialects when referring to a young girl.

Common words containing 妮 include: 妮子 (nī zi) — girl; lass; 珍妮 (zhēn nī) — Jenny (a name); 妮妮 (nī nī) — Nini (a common nickname).