你 meaning and stroke order
You (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2])
How to write 你, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 你
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2])
- you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.)
How 你 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Pronoun 尔 for a person 亻.
Radical: 亻 (man), shared by 277 characters on this site.
How to remember 你
你 combines the person radical 亻 with 尔 (ěr), an old word for "you." Picture pointing at a person 亻 and saying 尔: that person is 你 (nǐ), you.
你 is the everyday word for "you" with friends, family, and peers. Add 们 to make it plural: 你们 (nǐmen). Example: 你好吗？(Nǐ hǎo ma?) How are you?
Common mistake: Learners often write 你 with the wrong right side, mixing up 尔 with 尓 or adding extra strokes. Also, 你 is used for strangers too, but with elders, teachers, or customers 您 (nín) sounds more polite.
Common words with 你
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
你 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 你
Learning 你 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 你
How many strokes are in 你?
你 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 你 mean?
你 (nǐ) means you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]). A common word with it is 你们 (nǐmen), meaning "you (plural)".
How do you pronounce 你?
你 is pronounced nǐ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 你?
The radical of 你 is 亻, which carries the idea of "man". Dictionaries list 你 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 你?
The traditional form of 你 is 妳. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 你 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 你 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 你 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
Why does 你好 sound like "ní hǎo" instead of "nǐ hǎo"?
When two third tones come together, the first one changes to a rising second tone. So 你好 is written nǐhǎo but spoken as níhǎo.
Should I use 你 or 妳 when talking to a woman?
In mainland China, 你 is used for everyone, male or female. In Taiwan, some people write 妳 for women, but it is pronounced the same, nǐ.