Definitions

(noun) limit; bound; extremity
(verb) to differentiate
(noun) origin; cause

Etymology

A young child 

About

The character 倪 incorporates the human radical 亻 alongside the component 兒, which signifies child, indicating its original semantic association with infancy or progeny. This foundational meaning gradually extended to abstract conceptions of boundaries or extremities, likely through a metaphorical connection to the defining limits of a formative entity. Subsequent semantic development saw the character employed to denote incipient stages or subtle indications, particularly within the compound 端倪, where it conveys the preliminary traces of an matter. While its contemporary function is predominantly as a surname, the character's layered history, from concrete referent to abstract bound, demonstrates a shift in application within the linguistic tradition.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Jin dynasty (266-420 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

老师教我们数学。

Ní lǎoshī jiāo wǒmen shùxué.

Teacher Ni teaches us math.

华是我的好朋友。

Ní Huá shì wǒ de hǎo péngyou.

Ni Hua is my good friend.

我们找到了事件的端

Wǒmen zhǎodào le shìjiàn de duānní.

We found a clue to the incident.

从这句话中看出端

Cóng zhè jù huà zhōng kànchū duānní.

From this sentence, we can see a clue.

先生正在研究这个问题。

Ní xiānsheng zhèngzài yánjiū zhège wèntí.

Mr. Ni is studying this problem.

警方已经掌握了案件的端

Jǐngfāng yǐjīng zhǎngwò le ànjiàn de duānní.

The police have already grasped clues to the case.

通过仔细分析,端逐渐显现。

Tōngguò zǐxì fēnxī, duānní zhújiàn xiǎnxiàn.

Through careful analysis, clues gradually appear.

教授在学术上有很深的造诣。

Ní jiàoshòu zài xuéshù shàng yǒu hěn shēn de zàoyì.

Professor Ni has profound accomplishments in academia.