How to Write 腻 (nì) — Meaning “greasy or oily”

Imagine a piece of meat (月) that is so greasy you have to wipe it twice (贰 sounds like 'two') with a napkin. The double action helps you recall the meaning 'greasy'.

Write the left radical 月 narrow and tall, then the right part 贰 with the top '二' (two) and bottom '贝' (shell/money). Make sure the 贝 is not too wide and keep the strokes balanced; a common mistake is making the right part too big.

腻 is about greasiness or boredom, 望 means 'gaze' or 'hope', and 朝 means 'dynasty' or 'morning'. Visually, 腻 has the meat radical on the left, while 望 has 亡 on top and 月 on bottom, and 朝 has 十, 早, and 月 components.

腻 is common in daily speech: 油腻 describes oily food, and 腻了 expresses being tired of something. In culture, Northern Chinese cuisine is sometimes called '油腻' for its heavy use of oil, and saying '吃腻了' means you've eaten too much of something and are sick of it.

Common words containing 腻 include: 油腻 (yóu nì) — Greasy or oily; 腻了 (nì le) — tired of / bored with; 细腻 (xì nì) — fine, smooth, exquisite.