内 (nèi): inside, inner, internal
内 (nèi) is a Chinese character meaning “inside.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 冂 (structural) and 人 (structural). It ranks #175 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 内 a man 人 entering a door 冂. Its radical form 冂 (wide) appears in many related characters such as 再 (zài, again), 最 (zuì, (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree), 冒 (mào, to emit).
Definitions
- inside
- inner
- internal
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA man 人 entering a door 冂
Decomposition: ⿻冂人 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 内 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 内
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 内心noun | nèi xīn | heart | 4 |
| 内容noun | nèi róng | content | 4 |
| 内部noun | nèi bù | interior | 5 |
| 内衣noun | nèi yī | undergarment | 6 |
| 在内noun | zài nèi | (included) in it | 5 |
| 以内noun | yǐ nèi | within | 4 |
| 内涵noun | nèi hán | meaningful content | 6 |
| 内科noun | nèi kē | internal medicine | 6 |
| 内外noun | nèi wài | inside and outside | 6 |
| 海内外 | hǎi nèi wài | domestic and international | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 内裤 | nèi kù | underpants |
| 内疚 | nèi jiù | guilty conscience |
| 国内 | guó nèi | domestic |
| 内幕 | nèi mù | inside story |
| 内阁 | nèi gé | (government) cabinet |
| 内奸 | nèi jiān | undiscovered traitor |
| 内情 | nèi qíng | inside story |
| 境内 | jìng nèi | within the borders |
| 内侧 | nèi cè | inner side |
| 内讧 | nèi hòng | internal strife |
| 内伤 | nèi shāng | internal injury |
| 内陆 | nèi lù | inland |
| 内存 | nèi cún | internal storage |
| 内核 | nèi hé | core (of a fruit) |
| 党内 | dǎng nèi | within the party (esp. Chinese communist party) |
内 appears in 100 compound words: 81 as the first character, 18 as the last, and 1 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 内 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (11)
internal and external troubles; internal upheaval and external invasions
Showing 9 of 11 idioms containing 内.
Example Sentences
写好内字需要掌握正确的笔画顺序。
xiě hǎo nèi zì xū yāo zhǎng wò zhēng què de bǐ huà shùn xù .
To write the character "内" correctly, one must master the proper stroke order.
阿曼证实美伊2/26日内瓦再谈 传德黑兰愿就核计画让步
ā 曼 zhèng shí měi yī 2 2 6 rì nèi wǎ zài tán chuán dé hēi lán yuàn jiù hé jì huà ràng bù
Oman confirmed that the United States and Iran will talk again in Geneva on 2/26 and it is rumored that Tehran is willing to make concessions on the nuclear program
新春长假尾声至 内地客最后冲刺
xīn chūn cháng jiǎ wěi shēng zhì nèi dì kè zuì hòu chōng cì
The end of the Chinese New Year holiday is the last sprint of mainland guests
内塔尼亚胡宣布组建针对穆斯林的新联盟
nèi tǎ ní yà hú xuān bù zǔ jiàn zhēn duì mù sī lín de xīn lián méng
Netanyahu announced the formation of a new coalition against Muslims
一环内禁燃!云岩区春节期间烟花爆竹禁限放区域、...
yī huán nèi jīn rán ! yún yán qū chūn jié qī jiān yān huā bào zhú jīn xiàn fàng qū yù , . . .
No combustion in the first ring! Yunyan District Fireworks and Firecrackers Prohibited and Restricted Areas during the Spring Festival、...
特朗普向伊朗下最后通牒:伊朗15天内必须与美国达成..
tè lǎng pǔ xiàng yī lǎng xià zuì hòu tōng 牒 : yī lǎng 1 5 tiān nèi bì xū yǔ měi guó dá chéng . .
Trump issued an ultimatum to Iran: Iran must reach an agreement with the United States within 15 days:
内心世界很丰富，不知该如何表达了！
Nèixīnshìjiè hěn fēngfù, bù zhī gāi rúhé biǎodá le!
Deep down, everyone is rich and beautiful, but we don't know how to express it!
很难在2、3年内掌握法语。
Hěn nán zài liǎng, sān nián nèi zhǎngwò Fǎyǔ.
It's quite difficult to master French in 2 or 3 years.
我下定决心要在三年之内达成目标。
Wǒ xiàdìngjuéxīn yào zài sān nián zhīnèi dáchéng mùbiāo.
I have made up my mind to achieve my goals in three years.
这瓶内有一点威士忌。
Zhè píng nèi yǒu yīdiǎn wēishìjì.
There is a bit of whisky in this bottle.
Character Family
Homophones — Characters pronounced nèi
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 内 (nèi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 内 and 外?
How many strokes does 内 have?
What is the radical of 内?
What are the components of 内?
What are common words containing 内?
What characters sound the same as 内 (nèi)?
Is 内 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 内 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.