Dictionary › 宁

宁

nìng

HSK 5 Character Traditional 寧

What 宁 means

1. would rather
2. to prefer
3. how (emphatic)
4. Taiwan pr. níng

Other readings

宁 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• níngpeaceful; to pacify; to visit (one's parents etc)
• nìngold variant of {宁|nìng}
• níngvariant of {宁|níng}
• Níngabbr. for Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region {宁夏回族自治区|Níng xià Huí zú Zì zhì qū}; abbr. for Nan

Example sentences

• 我宁死不降。
  I would rather die than surrender.
• 我宁愿分开。
  I would rather be apart.
• 我宁愿去游泳。
  I'd rather go swimming.
• 不，我是方宁。
  No, I am Fang Ning.
• 暴风过后是宁静。
  Bàofēng guòhòu shì níngjìng.
  After a storm comes a calm.
• 我宁愿待在家里。
  I would rather stay at home.

Words starting with 宁

• 宁可nìng kěpreferably; one would prefer to...(or not to...); would rather
• 宁愿nìng yuànwould rather ... (than ...)
• 宁肯nìng kěnwould rather...; it would be better...; would prefer
• 宁静níng jìngtranquil; tranquility; serenity
• 宁波市Níng bō ShìNingbo, sub-provincial city in Zhejiang Province 浙江省
• 宁宗Níng zōngEmperor Ningzong of Southern Song (1168-1224)
• 宁边Níng biānYongbyon (Ryeongbyeon), site of North Korean nuclear reactor
• 宁国市Níng guó ShìNingguo, a county-level city in Xuancheng City 宣城市
• 宁安市Níng ān ShìNing'an, a county-level city in Mudanjiang City 牡丹江市
• 宁德市Níng dé ShìNingde, prefecture-level city in Fujian Province 福建省
• 宁静致远níng jìng zhì yuǎntranquility yields transcendence (idiom); quiet life of profound study…
• 宁夏省Níng xià Shěngformer Ningxia province, now Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region 宁夏回族自治区
• 宁江区Níng jiāng QūNingjiang, a district of Songyuan City 松原市
• 宁乡市Níng xiāng ShìNingxiang, a county-level city in Changsha City 长沙市
• 宁县Níng XiànNing County or Ningxian, a county in Qingyang City 庆阳市
• 宁化县Níng huà XiànNinghua, a county in Sanming City 三明市
• 宁南县Níng nán XiànNingnan, a county in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture 凉山彝族自治州
• 宁城县Níng chéng XiànNingcheng, a county in Chifeng City 赤峰市
• 宁强县Níng qiáng XiànNingqiang, a county in Hanzhong City 汉中市
• 宁明县Níng míng XiànNingming, a county in Chongzuo City 崇左市
• 宁武县Níng wǔ XiànNingwu, a county in Xinzhou City 忻州市
• 宁津县Níng jīn XiànNingjin, a county in Dezhou City 德州市
• 宁海县Níng hǎi XiànNinghai, a county in Ningbo City 宁波市
• 宁远县Níng yuǎn XiànNingyuan, a county in Yongzhou City 永州市

Words containing 宁

• 安宁ān níngpeaceful; tranquil; calm
• 列宁Liè níngVladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870-1924), Russian revolutionary leader
• 辽宁省Liáo níng ShěngLiaoning Province, capital Shenyang 沈阳市
• 杨振宁Yáng Zhèn nìngChen-Ning Franklin Yang (1922–2025), theoretical physicist, co-developer of Yang-Mills…
• 张宁Zhāng NíngZhang Ning (1975-), PRC female badminton player and Olympic gold medalist
• 南宁市Nán níng ShìNanning, prefecture-level city and capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 广西壮族自治区
• 列宁格勒Liè níng gé lèLeningrad, former name (1923–1991) of Russian city Saint Petersburg 圣彼得堡
• 心神不宁xīn shén bù níngto feel ill at ease
• 李宁Lǐ NíngLi Ning (1963-), PRC gymnast, winner of three gold medals at Los Angeles 1984 Olympic…
• 贝宁Bèi níngBenin
• 马克思列宁主义Mǎ kè sī Liè níng zhǔ yìMarxism-Leninism
• 丹宁dān níng(loanword) denim; tannin
• 单宁dān níng(loanword) tannin
• 归宁guī níng(literary) (of a married woman) to visit one's parents
• 长宁Cháng níngChangning County in Yibin 宜宾; Changning District in Shanghai
• 亚平宁Yà píng nìngApennine (Mountains)
• 伊宁市Yī níng ShìYining, a county-level city in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture 伊犁哈萨克自治州
• 天宁区Tiān níng QūTianning, a district of Changzhou City 常州市
• 安宁区Ān níng QūAnning, a district of Lanzhou City 兰州市
• 安宁市Ān níng ShìAnning, a county-level city in Kunming City 昆明市
• 安宁片ān níng piànmeprobamate
• 常宁市Cháng níng ShìChangning, a county-level city in Hengyang City 衡阳市
• 普宁市Pǔ níng ShìPuning, a county-level city in Jieyang City 揭阳市
• 东宁市Dōng níng ShìDongning, a county-level city in Mudanjiang City 牡丹江市

Characters that look like 宁

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 守shǒuto guard; to defend; to keep watch
• 宇yǔroom; universe

Sounds the same

Read nìng, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 拧stubborn
• 佞to flatter; flattery
• 泞muddy