呢
ne
HSK 1
#383 most
frequent character
(question particle for subjects already mentioned)
Character breakdown
Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
呢 has 口 mouth as the meaning part and 尼 ní as the sound part. Its first meaning was 'a soft sound'. The meaning 'thick, dense cloth' was borrowed for the sound alone. Read ne, it works as a modal particle in questions, statements, pauses, and commands, all by sound loan.
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