TraceHanzi

柠 meaning and stroke order

níng

Lemon

9 strokesRadical 木Traditional 檸
Strokes9
Pinyinníng
ToneTone 2
Frequency#2,672
Printable worksheet

How to write 柠, stroke by stroke

9 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
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  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9

Meaning of 柠

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

níngsecond tone (rising)
  1. used in 檸檬|柠檬[ning2 meng2]

How 柠 is built

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

mùtree+níngcalm

木 gives the meaning and 宁 hints at the sound.

Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.

How to remember 柠

柠 is a pictophonetic character: 木 (mù, tree) on the left tells you it is a plant, and 宁 (níng, peaceful) on the right gives the sound. Picture a calm lemon tree, and you have 柠 (níng).

柠 almost never appears alone. It is used in the word 柠檬 (níngméng, lemon) and words built on it. Example: 我要一杯柠檬水。(Wǒ yào yì bēi níngméngshuǐ.) I'd like a glass of lemonade.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 拧 (nǐng/níng, to twist or wring) with the hand radical 扌 instead of the tree radical 木. Remember that a lemon grows on a tree, so 柠 takes 木.

Common words with 柠

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

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
柠檬níngménglemon
柠檬水níngméngshuǐlemonade
柠檬汁níngméngzhīlemon juice

柠 in example sentences

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

这zhè道dào沙shā拉lā有yǒu柠níng檬méng的de味wèi道dào。
This salad tastes of lemon.
柠níng檬méng有yǒu独dú特tè的de味wèi道dào。
The lemon has a flavor all of its own.
我wǒ从cóng来lái不bù喝hē柠níng檬méng茶chá。
I never drink tea with lemon.
这zhè些xiē柠níng檬méng很hěn新xīn鲜xiān。
These lemons are fresh.
我wǒ吃chī了le你nǐ的de柠níng檬méng。
I ate your lemon.

Questions about 柠

How many strokes are in 柠?

柠 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 柠 mean?

柠 (níng) means lemon. A common word with it is 柠檬 (níngméng), meaning "lemon".

How do you pronounce 柠?

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

What is the radical of 柠?

The radical of 柠 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 柠 under this radical.

What is the traditional form of 柠?

The traditional form of 柠 is 檸. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 柠 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.

Can 柠 be used by itself to mean lemon?

No. On its own 柠 has no independent meaning in modern Chinese. You need the full word 柠檬 (níngméng) to say lemon.

How do you say lime in Chinese?

Lime is usually 青柠 (qīngníng), literally green lemon. You will see it on drink menus, for example 青柠汁 (qīngníngzhī), lime juice.