zìxíngchē jiègei shuí le, ng? Who did you lend your bicycle to, eh?
ní 泥 N mud ■ 他们在下雨天踢球，搞得身上都是 泥。Tāmen zài xiàyǔtiān tīqiú, gǎode shēnshang
dōushì ní. They played soccer in the rain and got themselves all covered with mud.
nǐ 你 PRON you (singular) ■ 你是谁？Nǐ shì shuí? Who’re you? ■ 我不认识你。Wǒ bú rènshi nǐ. I don’t
know you.
nǐmen 你们 [suffix: 你 you (singular) + 们 suffix denoting a plural number] PRON you (plural) ■ 你 们都
是我的朋友。Nǐmen dōu shì wǒ de péngyou. You all are my friends. ■ 我告诉你们一个好消
息。Wǒ gàosu nǐmen yí ge hǎo xiāoxi. I’ll tell you a piece of good news.
nǐ 拟 TRAD 擬 V draw up, draft
nǐdìng 拟定 V draw up, work out 拟定计划 nǐdìng jìhuà draw up a plan
nì 逆 ADJ contrary, counter
nìxíng 逆行 V go in the wrong direction
nì 腻 ADJ 1 greasy (See yóunì 油腻.) 2 fed up with
nián 年 N year (no measure word required) ■ 一年 有十二个月。Yì nián yǒu shí’èr ge yuè. There’re
twelve months in a year. ■ 我在美国住了两 年。Wǒ zài Měiguó zhùle liǎng nián. I lived in the
States for two years. 今年 jīnnián this year / 明年 míngnián next year / 去年 qùnián last year
NOTE: No measure word is used with 年 nián, e.g. 一 年 yì nián (one year), 两年 liǎng nián (two years), 三 年
sān nián (three years).niándài 年代 [comp: 年 year + 代 age] N a decade of a century ■ 我爸爸妈妈喜欢听(二十世纪)八 十
年代的歌。Wǒ bàba māma xǐhuan tīng (èrshí shìjì) bāshí niándài de gē. My dad and mom enjoy
listening to songs of the eighties (of the twentieth century).
niándù 年度 I N year 财务年度 cáiwù niándù fiscal year II ADJ annual 年度报告 niándù bàogào annual report
niánjí 年级 [comp: 年 year + 级 grade] N grade (in school) ■ 这个年级有多少学生？Zhège niánjí yǒu
duōshǎo xuésheng? How many students are there in this grade? ■ 他们的女儿刚念一年级。
Tāmen de nǚ’ér gāng niàn yì niánjí. Their daughter is only a first grade pupil.
niánjì 年纪 [comp: 年 year + 纪 number] N age ■ 他虽然年纪小，但是很懂事。Tā suīrán niánjì xiǎo,
dànshì hěn dǒngshì. Although he’s very young, he’s quite sensible. ■ “老先生，您多大年 纪
了？”“七十了。”“Lǎo xiānsheng, nín duōdà niánjì le?” “Qīshí le.” “How old are you, sir?”
“Seventy.”
NOTE: 您多大年纪了？ Nín duōdà niánjì le? is an appropriate way to ask the age of an elderly person. To ask a
young child his/her age, the question should be 你几岁了？ Nǐ jǐ suì le? For people who are neither children
nor elderly, the question to use is 你多 大岁数？Nǐ duō dà suìshu?
niánlíng 年龄 [comp: 年 year + 龄 age] N age (of a person or other living things) ■ 你别问别人的年
龄，尤其别问女士的年龄。Nǐ bié wèn biérén de niánlíng, yóuqí bié wèn nǚshì de niánlíng. Do
not ask about somebody’s age, especially a lady’s age. ■ 这棵树的年龄比我爷爷还大。Zhè kē
shù de niánlíng bǐ wǒ yéye hái dà. This tree is older than my grandpa.
niánqīng 年轻 [modif: 年 age + 轻 light] ADJ young ■ 你还年轻，有些事你还不大懂。Nǐ hái niánqīng,
yǒuxiē shì nǐ hái bú dà dǒng. You’re still too young to understand some matters. ■ 他年轻的 时候
可能干了！Tā niánqīng de shíhou, kě nénggàn le! He was a very capable man when he was
young.
niánqīngrén 年轻人 N young person, young people
niàn 念 V 1 read, read aloud ■ 你每天念中文课文 吗？Nǐ měi tiān niàn Zhōngwén kèwén ma? Do you
read your Chinese lessons every day? 2 study (in a school) ■ 他们的大儿子在英国念大学，他念
数学。Tāmen de dà érzi zài Yīngguó niàn dàxué, tā niàn shùxué. Their eldest son is studying in a
university in the UK; he studies mathematics.
NOTE: See note on 读 dú.