How to Write 湼 (niè) — Meaning “To blacken; Nirvana (variant of 涅).”

Imagine a river (氵) flowing into a pool of black ink (涅), turning everything dark. This image can help you remember that 湼 means 'to blacken' or is part of the word for Nirvana. The right side 涅 looks like a sun (日) above earth (土), which you can think of as a dark spot on the ground.

First write the water radical 氵 as three dots and a short horizontal stroke. Then on the right, write 涅: start with 日 (sun) using a vertical stroke then horizontal, then finish with 土 (earth) — horizontal, vertical, horizontal. A common mistake is to confuse the right side with the more complex parts of 流 or 浙, so pay attention to the compact square shape of 日 above 土.

湼 has a right side with a clear 日 (sun) on top of 土 (earth), making it look boxy. In contrast, 流 has a right side that looks like 㐬 (a flowing shape), and 浙 has a right side like 折 (break). Their meanings are also very different: 湼 means 'blacken' or relates to Nirvana, while 流 means 'flow' and 浙 is a Chinese river or province name.

湼 is a variant of 涅 and is most often found in the Buddhist term 湼槃 (niè pán), meaning Nirvana. It also appears in expressions like 湼而不缁 (niè ér bù zī), which describes staying pure even in a corrupt environment. Because it is not a common everyday character, you will mostly encounter it in religious, literary, or philosophical texts about Buddhism.

Common words containing 湼 include: 湼槃 (niè pán) — Nirvana.; 湼白 (niè bái) — Opaque white.; 湼而不缁 (niè ér bù zī) — To remain untainted despite bad influences..