niáng 娘 N 1 girl (See gūniang 姑娘.) 2 mother
niàng 酿 V make (wine), brew (beer) 酿酒 niàngjiǔ make wine
niǎo 鸟 TRAD 鳥 N bird (只 zhī) ■ 两只鸟在花园 里飞来飞去。Liǎng zhī niǎo zài huāyuán li fēilái-fēi-
qù. Two birds darted here and there in the garden.
niē 捏 V mold
niēzào 捏造 [comp: 捏 mold + 造 make] V fabricate, make up
nín 您 PRON you (honorific)
NOTE: 您 nín is the honorific form of 你 nǐ. Use 您 nín when respect or deference is called for. Normally, 您
nín does not have a plural form. 您们 nínmen is absolutely unacceptable in spoken Chinese, and only
marginally so in written Chinese. To address more than one person politely, you can say 您两位 nín liǎng
wèi (two people), 您三位 nín sān wèi (three people), or 您几位 nín jǐ wèi (several people).níng 凝 V freeze, coagulate
nínggù 凝固 V solidify
níngjié 凝结 [comp: 凝 freeze + 结 coagulate] V (of gas or hot air) becomes liquid, condense
níngshì 凝视 [modif: 凝 freeze + 视 look] V look at steadily and for a long time, gaze
níng 宁 TRAD 寧 ADJ peaceful, tranquil
níngjìng 宁静 ADJ tranquil, quiet
níng 拧 TRAD 擰 V wring, twist 拧毛巾 níng máojīn wring a towel
nǐng 拧 TRAD 擰 V screw, wrench 拧螺丝 nǐng luósī turn a screw (to tighten or loosen)
nìng 宁 TRAD 寧 MODAL V would rather 宁死不屈 nìng sǐ bù qū would rather die than succumb
nìngkě 宁可 MODAL V same as 宁肯 nìngkěn
nìngkěn 宁肯 MODAL V would rather ■ 她宁肯走 去，也不搭他的车 Tā nìngkěn zǒuqù, yě bù dā tāde
chē. She would rather walk there than go in his car.
NOTE: As is shown in the example sentence, 宁肯 nìngkěn is often used alongside with 也 yě: 宁肯 ...也 ...
nìngkěn ... yě ...nìngyuàn 宁愿 MODAL V same as 宁肯 nìngkěn
niú 牛 V cattle, ox, cow, calf, buffalo (头 tóu) ■ 牛 在草地上吃草。Niú zài cǎodì shang chī cǎo. The
cattle are grazing in the field. ■ 西方人用狗放羊 放牛，所以他们说狗是人最好的朋友。
Xīfāngrén yòng gǒu fàng yáng fàng niú, suǒyǐ tāmen shuō gǒu shì rén zuì hǎo de péngyou. People
in the West use dogs to herd cattle and sheep; that’s why they say the dog is man’s best friend. 公牛
gōng niú bull / 黄牛 huángniú ox / 奶牛 nǎiniú cow / 水牛 shuǐniú water buffalo / 小牛 xiǎo niú calf
NOTE: In the Chinese context, the ox (黄牛 huángniú) and the water buffalo (水牛 shuǐniú) are more important
than the milk cow (奶牛 nǎiniú).niúnǎi 牛奶 N cow’s milk, milk
niúròu 牛肉 N beef 烤牛肉 kǎo niúròu roast beef
niúzǎi kù 牛仔裤 N jeans
niǔ 扭 V turn (one’s head, back, etc.)
niǔzhuǎn 扭转 V turn around, reverse
niǔ 纽 TRAD 紐 N knob, button
niǔkòur 纽扣儿 N button (颗 kē, 个 gè)
nóng 农 TRAD 農 N farming
nóngchǎng 农场 [modif: 农 farming + 场 field, ground] N farm ■ 这个农场真大！Zhège nóngchǎng
zhēn dà! How big this farm is! ■ 外国人可以在这 里买农场吗？Wàiguórén kěyǐ zài zhèli mǎi