TraceHanzi

宁 meaning and stroke order

níng

Calm, peaceful; healthy; rather; to prefer

HSK 45 strokesRadical 宀Traditional 寕Traditional 寧Traditional 甯
Strokes5
Pinyinníng
ToneTone 2
Frequency#1,463
Printable worksheetPractice all HSK 4 characters

How to write 宁, stroke by stroke

5 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5

Meaning of 宁

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

níngsecond tone (rising)
  1. peaceful
  2. to pacify
  3. to visit (one's parents etc)
  4. variant of 寧|宁[ning2]
nìngfourth tone (falling)
  1. would rather
  2. to prefer
  3. how (emphatic)
  4. Taiwan pr. [ning2]
  5. old variant of 寧|宁[ning4]

How 宁 is built

Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Roof.

gàiroof+dīngmale adult

宀 gives the meaning and 丁 hints at the sound.

Radical: 宀 (roof), shared by 67 characters on this site.

How to remember 宁

宁 is a roof 宀 over 丁 (dīng), which gives the sound. Picture a home safely under its roof, calm and peaceful, and the 丁 underneath reminds you it sounds like níng.

In the sense of calm or peaceful, 宁 (níng) appears in words like 宁静 (níngjìng) and 安宁 (ānníng). Read as nìng, it means would rather, mostly in 宁愿 (nìngyuàn) and 宁可 (nìngkě). Example: 我宁愿走路去。(Wǒ nìngyuàn zǒulù qù.) I would rather walk there.

Common mistake: Learners often say níngyuàn with a second tone. In 宁愿 and 宁可 the standard Mainland reading is fourth tone, nìng. Second tone níng is for the peaceful sense, as in 宁静.

Common words with 宁

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
宁静níngjìngtranquil; tranquilityHSK 4
宁愿nìngyuànwould rather ... (than ...)HSK 7-9
宁可nìngkěpreferably; one would prefer to...(or not to...)HSK 7-9
安宁ānníngpeaceful; tranquilHSK 7-9
心神不宁xīnshénbùníngto feel ill at ease

宁 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

这zhè是shì个gè美měi丽lì而ér宁níng静jìng的de花huā园yuán。
This is a beautiful and quiet garden.
你nǐ度dù过guò了le很hěn不bù安ān宁níng的de一yī夜yè。
You've had a very restless night.
我wǒ宁nìng可kě死sǐ，也yě不bù想xiǎng看kàn见jiàn你nǐ哭kū。
I'd rather die than see you cry.
我wǒ不bù想xiǎng坐zuò汽qì车chē去qù，宁nìng可kě走zǒu去qù。
I don't want to go in the car. I would rather walk.
让ràng我wǒ们men享xiǎng受shòu这zhè平píng静jìng和hé安ān宁níng。
Let's enjoy this peace and quiet.

Characters that contain 宁

Learning 宁 makes these easier to recognize and write.

柠nínglemon拧níngto pinch泞nìngmud貯zhùto store

Questions about 宁

How many strokes are in 宁?

宁 is written with 5 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 宁 mean?

宁 (níng) means calm, peaceful; healthy; rather; to prefer. A common word with it is 宁静 (níngjìng), meaning "tranquil; tranquility".

How do you pronounce 宁?

宁 is pronounced níng, in the second tone (rising).

What is the radical of 宁?

The radical of 宁 is 宀, which carries the idea of "roof". Dictionaries list 宁 under this radical.

What is the traditional form of 宁?

The traditional form of 宁 is 寕, 寧 and 甯. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 宁 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.

Is 宁 on the HSK exam?

Yes. 宁 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.

What is the difference between 宁愿 and 宁可?

Both mean would rather and are often interchangeable. 宁可 is common in patterns like 宁可……也不…… (would rather... than...), while 宁愿 leans a bit more toward personal wishes.

How do I use 心神不宁 in a sentence?

It describes feeling uneasy or unable to settle down. For example, 他今天心神不宁。(Tā jīntiān xīnshénbùníng.) He feels restless today.

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