你 (nǐ) Chinese Character: Meaning & Stroke Order

Chinese character story: The Person in Front of You

你 (nǐ) means “you.” The left side, 亻, is the person component, while 尔 on the right mainly helps with the sound. Point the person component toward the person you are speaking to: 你. Put it before 好 and you get 你好, the first greeting many Chinese learners meet.

🧩 Word buildingSee what every part contributes

Chinese words often combine short meaning clues. Fixed expressions are clearly marked so you do not translate them too literally.

你们

你you们plural marker for people=you, plural

你的

你you的possessive marker=your or yours

Chinese character origin and etymology

你 is documented as a character built from meaningful or phonetic parts. Its earlier written forms gradually became the regular-script shape used today.

In modern simplified Chinese, 你 is written with 7 strokes. This lesson separates documented shape history from the memory story so learners do not mistake a mnemonic for a historical claim. 你 contains 亻 and 尔. These parts act like clues: a component may suggest a meaning category, a pronunciation, or simply preserve part of the character's historical structure.

Chinese character stroke order and structure

你 is written with 7 strokes. Learn the complete stroke sequence in the interactive lesson, then write the character from memory before checking your answer.

亻 — person — tells us the word refers to someone
尔 — phonetic component — helps suggest the pronunciation

Common usage and sentence patterns

The examples below show 你 in complete beginner-friendly sentences. Read each sentence aloud, notice where the character appears, and then replace one noun or number to create a new sentence of your own.

你好吗？ Nǐ hǎo ma? How are you?

这是你的水。 Zhè shì nǐ de shuǐ. This is your water.

你喜欢中国菜吗？ Nǐ xǐhuan Zhōngguó cài ma? Do you like Chinese food?

Learning tips for 你

Learn the reading as one unit: nǐ, with the third tone: falling then rising. Avoid memorizing the letters without the tone mark. Say the syllable, recall the English meaning “you,” and write the 7 strokes from memory.

Because 你 contains reusable components, identify those clues before memorizing the whole shape. Compare it with 我 (wǒ, I, me — the speaker); 他 (tā, he, him — another person); 好 (hǎo, good — combine with 你 to say 你好). Similar characters are easier to remember when their different parts and meanings are studied side by side.

Quick review checklist

Can you recognize 你 without pinyin?
Can you say nǐ with the correct tone and explain “you”?
Can you write all 7 strokes in order?
Can you use 你 in one short sentence?

Related characters

我 (wǒ) — I, me — the speaker
他 (tā) — he, him — another person
好 (hǎo) — good — combine with 你 to say 你好

Learn 你 in a themed collection

Compare this character with related beginner words. A themed path helps you notice useful pairs, word-building patterns, and everyday contexts.

👨‍👩‍👧 Chinese Family Characters

Continue learning Chinese characters

Use the Chinese radicals and components guide to understand reusable parts, the stroke order guide to improve handwriting, and the HSK 1 character overview to choose your next beginner lesson.

Sources and editorial note

HanziStory separates documented character history from modern memory stories. Historical-form images are shown only when a matching source file is available; missing stages are skipped rather than invented. Stroke practice uses HanziWriter data.

Last updated: August 12, 2026. Read our sources, editorial method, and correction policy.

你 (nǐ) Chinese Character: you