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尼

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尼 U+5C3C, 尼
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5C3C
← 尻
[U+5C3B] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 尽 →
[U+5C3D]

Translingual

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Stroke order

Han character

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尼 (Kangxi radical 44, 尸+2, 5 strokes, Cangjie input 尸心 (SP), four-corner 77211, composition ⿸尸匕)

Derived characters

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References

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  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 300, character 3
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 7635
  • Dae Jaweon: page 596, character 1
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 965, character 4
  • Unihan data for U+5C3C

Chinese

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Glyph origin

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Historical forms of the character 尼
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
Characters in the same phonetic series (尼) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
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

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意). The character does not appear as an independent character in the oracle bone script but appears as a component of 𢓚 and 秜. The character shows a man (尸) sitting on or leaning on another man (匕), giving the original meaning of “to stop” or “close; intimate”; the derivative 昵 refers to the latter meaning.

Shuowen Jiezi considered it as a phono-semantic compound, but this is widely discredited by later scholars.

Compare 化, 比, 北, and 卬.

Etymology 1

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trad. 尼
simp. # 尼
"Buddhist nun"

Clipping of 比丘尼 (bǐqiūní), from Sanskrit भिक्षुणी (bhikṣuṇī, “female beggar”) or Pali bhikkhunī (“female beggar”). Compare Sanskrit भिक्षु (bhikṣu, “beggar”).

Pronunciation

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Note: nai4 - vernacular variant.
Note: lûi - used in 尼姑.
  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 尼
Mandarin Beijing /ni³⁵/
Harbin /ni²⁴/
Tianjin /ni⁴⁵/
Jinan /ȵi⁴²/
Qingdao /ni⁴²/
Zhengzhou /ni⁴²/
Xi'an /ni²⁴/
Xining /mji²⁴/
Yinchuan /mi⁵³/
/ni⁵³/
Lanzhou /ȵi⁵³/
Ürümqi /ȵi⁵¹/
Wuhan /ni²¹³/
Chengdu /ȵi³¹/
Guiyang /ni²¹/
Kunming /ni³¹/
Nanjing /li²⁴/
Hefei /zz̩⁵⁵/
Jin Taiyuan /ni¹¹/
Pingyao /ȵi¹³/
Hohhot /ni³¹/
Wu Shanghai /ȵi²³/
Suzhou /ȵi¹³/
Hangzhou /ȵi²¹³/
Wenzhou /ȵi³¹/
Hui Shexian /ni⁴⁴/
Tunxi /ȵie⁴⁴/
Xiang Changsha /ȵi¹³/
Xiangtan /ȵi¹²/
Gan Nanchang /ȵi⁴⁵/
Hakka Meixian /ni¹¹/
Taoyuan /ni¹¹/
Cantonese Guangzhou /nei²¹/
Nanning /nɐi²¹/
Hong Kong /nei²¹/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /ni³⁵/
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /nɛ⁵³/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /ni²¹/
/mi³³/
Shantou (Teochew) /nĩ⁵⁵/
Haikou (Hainanese) /ni³¹/
/ni²¹³/ 俗
Rime
Character 尼
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 娘 (12)
Final (韻) 脂 (17)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 女夷切
Baxter nrij
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/ɳˠiɪ/
Pan
Wuyun 		/ɳᵚi/
Shao
Rongfen 		/niɪ/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/ɳji/
Li
Rong 		/nji/
Wang
Li 		/ni/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/ni/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		ní
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		nei4

Definitions

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尼

  1. Used in transcription.
    尼日  ―  Nírì  ―  Niger
    尼加拉瓜  ―  Níjiālāguā  ―  Nicaragua
    悉尼  ―  Xīní  ―  Sydney
    尼斯湖  ―  Nísīhú  ―  Loch Ness
    尼古丁  ―  nígǔdīng  ―  nicotine
    尼龍／尼龙  ―  nílóng  ―  nylon
    比基尼  ―  bǐjīní  ―  bikini
    尼古拉·特斯拉  ―  Nígǔlā Tèsīlā  ―  Nicola Tesla
    尼爾·杭思朗／尼尔·杭思朗  ―  Ní'ěr Hángsīlǎng  ―  Niel Armstrong
    1. Buddhist nun
    2. short for 尼泊爾／尼泊尔 (Níbó'ěr, “Nepal”)
      中尼邊界／中尼边界  ―  Zhōng Ní biānjiè  ―  China-Nepal border

Compounds

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Etymology 2

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trad. 尼
simp. # 尼

Unknown. Possibly a variant of 邇 (OC *njelʔ, “near”) (compare Mandarin 你 (nǐ) from 爾 (OC *njelʔ)), or a conflation of 邇 (OC *njelʔ, “near”) and 昵 (OC *niɡ) (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

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Rime
Character 尼
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 娘 (12)
Final (韻) 脂 (17)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 女夷切
Baxter nrij
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/ɳˠiɪ/
Pan
Wuyun 		/ɳᵚi/
Shao
Rongfen 		/niɪ/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/ɳji/
Li
Rong 		/nji/
Wang
Li 		/ni/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/ni/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		ní
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		nei4
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 尼
Reading # 3/3
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		ní
Middle
Chinese 		‹ nrij ›
Old
Chinese 		/*nr[əj]/
English near, close

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 尼
Reading # 1/1
No. 9428
Phonetic
component 		尼
Rime
group 		脂
Rime
subdivision 		1
Corresponding
MC rime 		尼
Old
Chinese 		/*nil/

Definitions

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尼

  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) near; close; intimate
  2. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) peaceful; calm
  3. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) harmonious

Etymology 3

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trad. 尼
simp. # 尼

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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Rime
Character 尼
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 娘 (12)
Final (韻) 脂 (17)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 女夷切
Baxter nrij
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/ɳˠiɪ/
Pan
Wuyun 		/ɳᵚi/
Shao
Rongfen 		/niɪ/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/ɳji/
Li
Rong 		/nji/
Wang
Li 		/ni/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/ni/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		ní
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		nei4

Definitions

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尼

  1. a surname

Etymology 4

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trad. 尼
simp. # 尼

Possibly from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m/s-njal (“to sleep; to lie down”) (Sagart, 2004) while inheriting a *-t applicative suffix (Jacques, 2016a), since Middle Chinese sources quote the fanqie 女乙切 or /*ɳit̚/ (The Jingdian Shiwen section for the quotation from Mencius; see below). The stem word can be compared with the Tibetan ཉལ་པ (nyal pa, “to lie down; to go to sleep; to dwell”), and possibly with the Tangut 𗱩 (*njwij¹, “to obstruct; to obscure; to choke up”). See also 柅 (OC *nil, *nilʔ, “stopper”) attested in the Zhou Yi.

Pronunciation

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(Can we verify(+) this pronunciation?)

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 尼 尼
Reading # 1/3 2/3
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		ní ní
Middle
Chinese 		‹ nejX › ‹ nejH ›
Old
Chinese 		/*nˁərʔ/ /*nˁərʔ-s/
English to stop to stop, obstruct

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Definitions

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尼

  1. (literary) to stop; to obstruct
    • 行或使之，止或尼之。行止，非人所能也。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]
      From: Mencius, c. 4th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
      Xíng huò shǐ zhī, zhǐ huò nì zhī. Xíng zhǐ, fēi rén suǒ néng yě. [Pinyin]
      A man's advancement is effected, it may be, by others, and the stopping him is, it may be, from the efforts of others. But to advance a man or to stop his advance is really beyond the power of other men.

Compounds

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Etymology 5

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trad. 尼
simp. # 尼
alternative forms 乃
倷

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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Definitions

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尼

  1. (Taishanese) a few; a little bit; some
  2. (Taishanese) the; those
  3. (Taishanese) more; -er
Synonyms
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Dialectal synonyms of 些 (“some, a few”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 些
Northeastern Mandarin Taiwan 些
Singapore 些
Cantonese Guangzhou 啲
Hong Kong 啲
Taishan 尼
Singapore (Guangfu) 啲
Hakka Meixian 兜
Miaoli (N. Sixian) 兜
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) 兜
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) 兜
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) 兜
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) 兜
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) 兜
Southern Min Xiamen 寡
Zhangzhou 寡
Tainan 寡
Singapore (Hokkien) 寡
Manila (Hokkien) 寡
Shantou 撮
Jieyang 撮
Singapore (Teochew) 撮
Wu Shanghai 眼, 點, 些 formal or Mandarin-influenced
Wenzhou 厘兒

Etymology 6

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trad. 尼
simp. # 尼

Pronunciation

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This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Definitions

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尼

  1. (Leizhou Min) Prefix in non-face-to-face kinship terms.

Compounds

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References

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Japanese

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Kanji

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尼

(Jōyō kanji)

Readings

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  • Go-on: に (ni, Jōyō)、ねい (nei)
  • Kan-on: じ (ji)、でい (dei)
  • Kun: あま (ama, 尼, Jōyō)

Compounds

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Etymology 1

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Kanji in this term
尼
あま
Grade: S
kun'yomi

Probably ultimately from Pali amma (“mother; woman”).[1][2]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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尼(あま) • (ama) 

  1. nun
  2. (derogatory) woman
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
尼
あま
Grade: S
(ateji)
kun'yomi

Clipping of アマゾン (Amazon, “Amazon”).

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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尼(あま) • (Ama) 

  1. (Internet slang, dated) Amazon (Amazon.com Inc.)
    • 2019 December 19, 闇陰ひかる@騎士団長兼任提督, Twitter‎[2]:
      あ、空(くう)戦(せん)アルト売(う)ってる（´・ω・`）でも明日(あした)尼(あま)から届(とど)くから
      A, kūsen-Aruto utteru (´ ω `) demo ashita Ama kara todoku kara
      Ah, aerial combat version of Alt is sold :( but I'll get it from Amazon tomorrow
Synonyms
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References

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  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

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Etymology

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From Middle Chinese 尼 (MC nrij). Recorded as Middle Korean 니 (ni) (Yale: ni) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

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Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

尼 (eumhun 여승 니 (yeoseung ni), word-initial (South Korea) 여승 이 (yeoseung i))

  1. hanja form? of 니/이 (“a Buddhist nun”)

Compounds

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References

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  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [4]

Vietnamese

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Han character

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尼: Hán Việt readings: ni[1][2][3][4][5], nê[3][5]
尼: Nôm readings: nơi[1][2][3][4][5][6][7], ni[1][2][4][5][6][7], nầy[2][4][5][6][7], này[1][2][3][7], nay[1][2][7], nề[1][7], nấy[7], nỉ[7]

  1. chữ Hán form of ni (“(only in compounds) Buddhist nun”)
  2. chữ Nôm form of nay (“this; now”)
  3. chữ Nôm form of này (“this; here”)
  4. chữ Nôm form of nề (“used in nặng nề (“heavy; massive; hefty”)”)
  5. chữ Nôm form of ni (“(Central Vietnam) this; now”)
  6. chữ Nôm form of nơi (“place”)

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Nguyễn (2014).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Trần (2004).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Hồ (1976).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Bonet (1899).
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Génibrel (1898).
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Taberd & Pigneau de Béhaine (1838).
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Nguyễn et al. (2009).
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