Translingual edit
Glyph origin edit
| Old Chinese |
---|
泥 | *niːl, *niːls |
屔 | *niːl |
苨 | *niːlʔ |
坭 | *niːlʔ |
迡 | *niːls |
埿 | *braːms, *niːl, *niːls |
旎 | *nilʔ |
狔 | *nilʔ |
抳 | *nilʔ |
尼 | *nil |
呢 | *nil |
怩 | *nil |
柅 | *nil, *nilʔ |
蚭 | *nil |
跜 | *nil |
秜 | *nil |
痆 | *rniːd |
昵 | *niɡ |
Phono-semantic compound (形聲/形声, OC *nil) : semantic 口 (“mouth”) + phonetic 尼 (OC *nil)
Etymology 1 edit
Ota (1987) suggests that the particle used in questions comes from 聻 (MC nriX) [Five Dynasties], a particle which may come from 爾 (MC nyeX, “that”), and that the particle used to indicate an action in progress comes from earlier 哩 [Yuan dynasty], which may come from 裏 (MC liX, “place”) [Tang dynasty–Five Dynasties].
Pronunciation edit
Definitions edit
呢
- Sentence-final particle indicating a reciprocal question; used to apply the previously asked question to a new subject. What about ...?; And ...?
- 你呢? ― Nǐ ne? ― How about you?
- 噉我呢? [Cantonese] ― gam2 ngo5 ne1? [Jyutping] ― What about me?
- 你覺得呢?/你觉得呢? ― Nǐ juéde ne? ― What do you think?
你爸爸好嗎?你媽媽呢? [MSC, trad.]
你爸爸好吗?你妈妈呢? [MSC, simp.]- Nǐ bàba hǎo ma? Nǐ māma ne? [Pinyin]
- How is your father? And your mom?
- Sentence-final particle signalling a pause, to emphasize the preceding words.
今天我倆值日,我這兒正掃著地,他呢,一溜煙兒跑了。 [MSC, trad.]
今天我俩值日,我这儿正扫着地,他呢,一溜烟儿跑了。 [MSC, simp.]- Jīntiān wǒ liǎ zhírì, wǒ zhèr zhèng sǎo zhe dì, tā ne, yīliūyānr pǎo le. [Pinyin]
- He and I were on cleaning duty today. I was sweeping the room when he got away in a flash.
- Sentence-final particle indicating continuation of an action or state, English present continuous. to be ...-ing
我們上漢語課呢。 [MSC, trad.]
我们上汉语课呢。 [MSC, simp.]- Wǒmen shàng hànyǔ kè ne. [Pinyin]
- We are attending a Chinese lesson.
- Sentence-final particle used to make questions more indirect, to give the impression that the speaker is speaking to themselves.
- 他去哪兒了呢?/他去哪儿了呢? ― Tā qù nǎr le ne? ― I wonder where he's going?
伊來呢勿來? [Shanghainese, trad.]
伊来呢勿来? [Shanghainese, simp.]- From: 2007, Qian Nairong, 上海话大词典, page 309
- 6yi 6le 0gni 8veq-le [Wugniu]
- Is he coming or not?
- (Shanghainese) Sentence-final particle expressing anger.
早點介講呢!到現在再講。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
早点介讲呢!到现在再讲。 [Shanghainese, simp.]- From: 2007, Qian Nairong, 上海话大词典, page 309
- 5tsau-ti 5ka 5kaon 0gni 5tau 6yi-ze 5tse 5kaon [Wugniu]
- You should have said it sooner, not now!
Usage notes edit
When expressing an action in progress, 呢 can be used with 正在 (zhèngzài) and 著/着 (zhe) in a sentence. This is the full pattern. Each part is optional. The use of 呢 implies a contrastive mood.
我們正在上著漢語課呢。 [MSC, trad.]
我们正在上着汉语课呢。 [MSC, simp.]- Wǒmen zhèngzài shàng zhe hànyǔ kè ne. [Pinyin]
- But we are (still) in Chinese class now.
Compounds edit
Etymology 2 edit
- “cloth”
- From French laine. In 《明史》, this word is also written as 嗹/𪡏. Cognate with Cantonese 冷 (laang5-1).
Pronunciation edit
Note:
- nà̤ - “whispering”;
- nì - “cloth”.
Zhengzhang system (2003) |
---|
Character | 呢 |
---|
Reading # | 1/1 |
---|
No. | 9429 |
---|
Phonetic component | 尼 |
---|
Rime group | 脂 |
---|
Rime subdivision | 1 |
---|
Corresponding MC rime | 尼 |
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Old Chinese | /*nil/ |
---|
Definitions edit
呢
- Used in 呢喃 (nínán).
- woollen cloth (for heavy clothing)
- 呢絨/呢绒 ― níróng ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
Synonyms edit
Dialectal synonyms of
呢子 (“woollen fabric”)
[map]Compounds edit
- 呢呢痴痴
- 呢喃 (nínán)
- 呢喃細語/呢喃细语
- 呢子 (nízi)
- 呢料
- 呢絨/呢绒 (níróng)
- 呢衣
- 鏡面呢/镜面呢
- 馬褲呢/马裤呢
Etymology 3 edit
Substrate word. Compare:
- Proto-Tai *najꟲ (“this”): Zhuang neix (“this”), Thai นี้ (níi, “this”), Lao ນີ້ (nī, “this”)
- Proto-Mon-Khmer *niʔ ~ nih (“this”): Khmer នេះ (nih, “this”)
- Proto-Mon-Khmer *naaj (“deictic particle”): Khmer នាយ (niəy, “over there”), Vietnamese này, nầy (“this”), Vietnamese nay (“now”), Vietnamese nấy (“that”)
- Proto-Hmong-Mien *ʔneinˣ (“this”): White Hmong no (“here, this”)
- Proto-Austronesian *nay (“deictic particle: this”), *qani (“proximal deictic: this”), *-ni (“proximal spatio-temporal deixis: this, here; now”): Malay ini (“this”).
Pronunciation edit
Definitions edit
呢
- (Cantonese) this
Usage notes edit
- Unlike Mandarin 這/这 (zhè), 呢 cannot be used alone without a following classifier. See 呢個#Usage notes.
Synonyms edit
Dialectal synonyms of
這 (“this”)
[map] Variety | Location | Words |
---|
Classical Chinese | 此, 斯, 是, 之, 茲 anteclassical, 夫, 爾 |
---|
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 這 |
---|
Mandarin | Beijing | 這 |
---|
Taiwan | 這 |
Tianjin | 這 |
Chengde | 這 |
Tangshan | 這 |
Cangzhou | 這 |
Baoding | 這 |
Shijiazhuang | 這 |
Chifeng | 這 |
Hulunbuir (Hailar) | 這 |
Heihe | 這 |
Qiqihar | 這 |
Jiamusi | 這 |
Baicheng | 這 |
Changchun | 這 |
Tonghua | 這 |
Shenyang | 這 |
Dandong | 這 |
Jinzhou | 這 |
Dalian | 這 |
Yantai | 這 |
Qingdao | 這 |
Lijin | 這 |
Zhucheng | 這 |
Jinan | 這 |
Jining | 這 |
Shangqiu | 這 |
Yuanyang | 這 |
Zhengzhou | 這 |
Lingbao | 這 |
Xinyang | 這 |
Baihe | 這 |
Hanzhong | 這 |
Xi'an | 這 |
Baoji | 這 |
Yinchuan | 這 |
Tianshui | 這 |
Lanzhou | 這 |
Dunhuang | 這 |
Xining | 這 |
Hami | 這 |
Ürümqi | 這 |
Wuhan | 這 |
Yichang | 這 |
Tianmen | 這 |
Hong'an | 這 |
Chengdu | 這 |
Nanchong | 這 |
Dazhou | 這 |
Hanyuan | 這 |
Xichang | 這 |
Zigong | 這 |
Chongqing | 這 |
Guiyang | 這 |
Zunyi | 這 |
Bijie | 這 |
Liping | 這 |
Zhaotong | 這 |
Dali | 這 |
Kunming | 這 |
Mengzi | 這 |
Guilin | 這 |
Liuzhou | 這 |
Jishou | 這 |
Changde | 這 |
Xuzhou | 這 |
Pizhou | 這 |
Ganyu | 這 |
Fuyang | 這 |
Wuhu | 這 |
Yangzhou | 這 |
Baoying | 這 |
Lianyungang | 這 |
Donghai | 這 |
Huai'an (Huaiyin) | 這 |
Lianshui | 這 |
Xuyi | 這 |
Nanjing | 這 |
Hefei | 這 |
Nantong | 這 |
Rugao | 這 |
Yancheng | 這 |
Funing | 這 |
Sihong | 這 |
Taizhou | 這 |
Zhenjiang | 這 |
Malaysia | 這 |
Singapore | 這 |
Cantonese | Guangzhou | 呢, 依 |
---|
Hong Kong | 呢, 依 |
Macau | 呢 |
Taishan | 該 |
Dongguan | 呢 |
Yangjiang | 果 |
Nanning | 阿 |
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) | 呢 |
Singapore (Guangfu) | 呢, 依 |
Gan | Nanchang | 箇 |
---|
Nanchang (Wangcheng) | 箇 |
Anyi | 箇 |
Lushan | 箇 |
Duchang | 箇 |
Wuning (Quankou) | 該 |
Poyang | 箇 |
Yugan | 該 |
Wannian | 該 |
Yanshan | 這 |
Yichun | 箇 |
Yifeng | 箇 |
Gao'an | 箇 |
Fengxin | 箇 |
Shanggao | 里 |
Wanzai | 箇 |
Fengcheng | 該 |
Xinyu | 該 |
Fuzhou (Shangdundu) | 該 |
Fuzhou (Dongxiang) | 箇 |
Nancheng | 箇 |
Nanfeng | 箇 |
Yihuang | 箇 |
Lichuan | 該 |
Chongren | 該 |
Pingxiang | 該 |
Ji'an | 蓋 |
Taihe | 箇 |
Xiajiang | 該 |
Yingtan (Yujiang) | 箇 |
Guixi | 箇 |
Jianning | 個 |
Jinxian | 箇 |
Jinxi | 箇 |
Le'an | 該 |
Guangchang | 改 |
Suichuan | 底 |
Wan'an | 介 |
Jing'an | 箇 |
Zhangshu | 該 |
Xingan | 個 |
Fenyi | 改 |
Hakka | Changting | 爾 |
---|
Ninghua | 只 |
Qingliu | 這 |
Yudu | 底 |
Ningdu | 底 |
Ruijin | 底 |
Shicheng | 底 |
Xunwu | 底 |
Huichang | 底 |
Xingguo | 界 |
Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 這 |
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 這 |
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 這 |
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 這 |
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 這 |
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 這 |
Hong Kong | 這 |
Huizhou | Jixi | 爾 |
---|
Shexian | 這 |
Wuyuan | 伊 |
Jin | Taiyuan | 這 |
---|
Yangyuan | 這 |
Datong | 這 |
Xinzhou | 這 |
Lishi | 這 |
Linfen | 這 |
Changzhi | 這 |
Linhe | 這 |
Jining | 這 |
Hohhot | 這 |
Erenhot | 這 |
Pingshan | 這 |
Zhangjiakou | 這 |
Handan | 這 |
Suide | 這 |
Northern Min | Jian'ou | 𱕇 |
---|
Eastern Min | Fuzhou | 只, 者, 嚽 |
---|
Changle | 這 |
Lianjiang | 這 |
Fuqing | 者 |
Pingtan | 這 |
Yongtai | 這 |
Minqing | 這 |
Gutian | 這 |
Pingnan | 這 |
Luoyuan | 這 |
Fu'an | 這 |
Ningde | 這 |
Xiapu | 這 |
Zherong | 這 |
Shouning | 這 |
Zhouning | 這 |
Fuding | 這 |
Singapore (Fuqing) | 這 |
Southern Min | Xiamen | 這 |
---|
Xiamen (Tong'an) | 這 |
Quanzhou | 只, 這 |
Jinjiang | 這 |
Nan'an | 這 |
Shishi | 這 |
Hui'an | 這 |
Anxi | 這 |
Yongchun | 這 |
Dehua | 這 |
Zhangzhou | 這 |
Zhangzhou (Longhai) | 這 |
Zhangzhou (Changtai) | 這 |
Hua'an | 這 |
Nanjing | 這 |
Pinghe | 這 |
Zhangpu | 這 |
Yunxiao | 這 |
Zhao'an | 只 |
Dongshan | 這 |
Taipei | 這 |
Kinmen | 這 |
Penang (Hokkien) | 這 |
Singapore (Hokkien) | 這 |
Manila (Hokkien) | 這 |
Longyan | 迄好 |
Zhangping | 這 |
Chaozhou | 只 |
Shantou | 只 |
Jieyang | 只 |
Haifeng | 只 |
Singapore (Teochew) | 只 |
Batam (Teochew) | 只 |
Wenchang | 這 |
Haikou | 這 |
Singapore (Hainanese) | 這 |
Puxian Min | Putian | 只蜀 |
---|
Xianyou | 只蜀 |
Central Min | Yong'an | 這 |
---|
Shaxian | 這 |
Shaojiang Min | Guangze | 當 |
---|
Jiangle | 者 |
Mingxi | 只 |
Shunchang | 這 |
Southern Pinghua | Nanning (Tingzi) | 亞 |
---|
Shehua | Cangnan | 這 |
---|
Jingning | 個 |
Wu | Shanghai | 搿, 迭 dated, 第 obsolete |
---|
Shanghai (Chongming) | 吉, 講, 葛 also that |
Shanghai (Songjiang) | 搿 |
Suzhou | 該, 搿 |
Suzhou (Shengze, Wujiang) | 個 |
Wuxi | 意 |
Changshu | 俚 |
Jiaxing | 葛 |
Jiashan | 葛 |
Pinghu | 葛 |
Haining (Yanguan) | 葛 |
Tongxiang | 葛 |
Haiyan | 葛 |
Changzhou | 資 |
Danyang | 格 |
Gaochun | 格 |
Huzhou | 格 |
Changxing | 格 |
Anji (Ancheng) | 格 |
Deqing | 葛 |
Hangzhou | 葛 |
Hangzhou (Yuhang) | 葛 |
Hangzhou (Lin'an) | 葛 |
Hangzhou (Fuyang) | 葛 |
Tonglu | 葛 |
Tonglu (Wusheng) | 個個 |
Shaoxing | 咸 |
Zhuji | 咸 |
Shengzhou | 咸 |
Xinchang | 咸 |
Ningbo | 葛 |
Zhenhai | 葛 |
Yuyao | 耶 |
Cixi | 葛 |
Huangyan | 葛 |
Tiantai | 葛 |
Sanmen | 葛 |
Wenling | 葛, 格 |
Wenzhou | 個 |
Yueqing | 個 |
Yongjia (Fenglin) | 個 |
Rui'an | 個 |
Pingyang | 個 |
Taishun | 這 |
Wencheng | 個 |
Lishui | 已 |
Qingtian | 已 |
Jinyun | 已 |
Songyang (Xiping) | 益 |
Yunhe | 益 |
Qingyuan | 這 |
Longquan | 搭 |
Suichang | 益 |
Jiangshan | 益 |
Changshan | 益 |
Kaihua | 益 |
Longyou | 個 |
Jinhua | 等, 待 |
Yiwu | 吾 |
Yongkang | 個 |
Pujiang | 這, 吉 |
Dongyang | 個 |
Wuyi | 愛個 |
Lanxi | 個 |
Shangrao | 這 |
Shangrao (Guangfeng) | 伊 |
Yushan | 伊 |
Xiang | Changsha | 咯 |
---|
Shuangfeng | 咯 |
Etymology 4 edit
Pronunciation edit
Definitions edit
呢
- (Cantonese) hey; Used to raise attention of the listener
Etymology 5 edit
From clipping of English level.
Pronunciation edit
Definitions edit
呢
- (Hong Kong Cantonese, gaming) levels (in a video game)
- (Hong Kong Cantonese, figuratively) levels in a society; social class
Compounds edit
Etymology 6 edit
Pronunciation edit
Definitions edit
呢
- sound
- Alternative form of 䛏 (ní)
Etymology 7 edit
Pronunciation edit
Definitions edit
呢
- Only used in 唵嘛呢叭咪吽 (ǎn mānī bēimēi hōng).
Etymology 8 edit
Pronunciation edit
Definitions edit
呢
- (Southern Min) Used in some question words.
Compounds edit
Japanese edit
呢 (eum 니 (ni))
- This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text
{{rfdef}}
.
Vietnamese edit
Han character edit
呢: Hán Nôm readings: ni, nài, nấy, nê, nỉ, nì, này
- This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text
{{rfdef}}
.