柠 (níng): used in 檸檬|柠檬

柠 (níng) is a Chinese character meaning “used in 檸檬|柠檬.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 木 (semantic) and 宁 (phonetic). It ranks #2291 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 柠 tree. Its radical form 木 (tree) appears in many related characters such as 木 (mù, wood/tree), 林 (lín, forest, woods), 森 (sēn, forest (dense)).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. used in 檸檬|柠檬

Etymology & Origin

柠

pictophonetictree

Decomposition: ⿰木宁 (layout: left-right)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Practice writing 柠 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
柠檬níng ménglemon
柠檬水níng méng shuǐlemonade
柠檬汁nounníng méng zhīlemon juice
柠檬茶nounníng méng chálemon tea
柠檬酸níng méng suāncitric acid
青柠色qīng níng sèlime (color)
青柠nounqīng nínglime (fruit)
柠檬片níng méng piànslice of lemon
青柠檬qīng níng ménglime (fruit)
柠檬草níng méng cǎolemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)
柠檬酸循环nounníng méng suān xún huáncitric acid cycle
柠檬鸡níng méng jīlemon chicken
柠檬烯níng méng xī(chemistry) limonene
柠烯níng xī(chemistry) limonene
14
Total compounds
79
As first character
7
As last character
14
As middle character

柠 appears in 14 compound words: 79 as the first character, 7 as the last, and 14 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 柠 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

檬méng
0.99522 co-occurrences

Example Sentences

少数派Aug 2026

家庭饮品 DIY 指南(四):奶昔、柠檬和茶系列配方

jiā tíng yǐn pǐn D I Y zhǐ nán ( sì ) : nǎi xī , níng méng hé chá xì liè pèi fāng

DIY Guide to Homemade Beverages (Part 4): Milkshakes, Lemon, and Tea Recipes

中国新闻网·生活Aug 2026

马蜂(碱性毒液):使用食醋或柠檬汁。

mǎ fēng ( jiǎn xìng dú yè ) : shǐ yòng shí cù huò níng méng zhī .

Hornets (alkaline venom): Use vinegar or lemon juice.

少数派Aug 2026

而蒜末、辣椒、香草、青柠汁这类鲜料最好吃前再加,防止长期保存影响风味。

ér suàn mò , là jiāo , xiāng cǎo , qīng níng zhī zhè lèi xiān liào zuì hǎo chī qián zài jiā , fáng zhǐ cháng qī bǎo cún yǐng xiǎng fēng wèi .

Fresh ingredients such as minced garlic, chili peppers, herbs, and lime juice are best added just before serving to prevent their flavor from being compromised during long-term storage.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

再度出演四凤的伍宇辰柠以完全的初心拥抱这个角色,表演出更朴素、干净且热烈的四凤形象。

zài dù chū yǎn sì fèng de wǔ yǔ chén níng yǐ wán quán de chū xīn yōng bào zhè gè jiǎo sè , biǎo yǎn chū gèng pǔ sù , gān jìng qiě rè liè de sì fèng xíng xiàng .

Wu Yuchen Ning, reprising her role as Si Feng, embraced the character with the same sincerity she had when she first took on the part, portraying a more down-to-earth, pure, and passionate Si Feng.

少数派Aug 2026

其中锡兰、阿萨姆红茶味道厚重,适合做港式奶茶、港式冻柠茶,特浓柠檬茶。

qí zhōng xī lán , ā sà mǔ hóng chá wèi dào hòu chóng , shì hé zuò gǎng shì nǎi chá , gǎng shì dòng níng chá , tè nóng níng méng chá .

Among these, Ceylon and Assam black teas have a rich, full-bodied flavor, making them ideal for Hong Kong-style milk tea, Hong Kong-style iced lemon tea, and extra-strong lemon tea.

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 木 (tree) component

Homophones — Characters pronounced níng

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 柠 (níng) mean in Chinese?
柠 (níng) primarily means "used in 檸檬|柠檬." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #2291 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 柠 have?
柠 is written with 9 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 柠?
The radical associated with 柠 is 木 (tree). This radical appears in many characters related to tree.
What are the components of 柠?
柠 is composed of: 木 (semantic), 宁 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰木宁 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 柠?
Common words with 柠 include: 柠檬 (níng méng, "lemon"); 柠檬水 (níng méng shuǐ, "lemonade"); 柠檬汁 (níng méng zhī, "lemon juice"); 柠檬茶 (níng méng chá, "lemon tea"); 柠檬酸 (níng méng suān, "citric acid"). There are over 14 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 柠 (níng)?
Several characters share the pronunciation níng: 拧 (to pinch). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 柠 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
No. The simplified form is 柠 and the traditional form is 檸.

Practice writing 柠 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.