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内

Tap the pinyin to hear it

inside; inner; internal; within; interior

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HSK 3.0
Level 3
Old HSK
Level 4
Strokes
4
Radical
冂 +2
Structure
Overlaid 叠加
Traditional
內
Common rank
#193
Unicode
U+5185

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 内 is formed

Ideographic compound (会意字)

A man 人 entering a door 冂

Components 冂 人

How to remember it

internal · Heisig RSH #840

belt + 人 person

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 内

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

WordPinyinMeaning
马斯内 Mǎ sī nèi Jules Massenet (1842-1912), French composer
内布拉斯加 Nèi bù lā sī jiā Nebraska, US state
内子 nèi zǐ (literary) my wife
大内 Dà nèi Danei, a district in Tainan 台南|台南[Tai2 nan2], Taiwan
国内外 guó nèi wài domestic and international; at home and abroad
内人 nèi rén my wife (humble)
国内 guó nèi domestic; internal (to a country); civil
市内 shì nèi inside the city
内中 nèi zhōng within it; among them
内黄县 Nèi huáng Xiàn Neihuang, a county in Anyang City 安陽市|安阳市[An1 yang2 Shi4], Henan
国内线 guó nèi xiàn domestic flight; internal line (air, train, ferry etc)
内心 nèi xīn heart; innermost being; (math.) incenter
海内外 hǎi nèi wài domestic and international; at home and abroad
内地 Nèi dì mainland China (PRC excluding Hong Kong and Macau, but including islands such as Hainan); …
内地 nèi dì inland; interior; hinterland
内海 nèi hǎi inland sea; internal sea (wholly within the territory of one country, e.g. the Bohai Sea)
海内 hǎi nèi the whole world; throughout the land; everything under the sun
内江市 Nèi jiāng Shì Neijiang, prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province 四川省[Si4 chuan1 Sheng3]
内化 nèi huà internalization; to internalize
内行 nèi háng expert; adept; experienced; an expert; a professional

Sound family

These characters use 内 as their sound component — compare how they read.

CharacterPinyinMeaning
内 sound part nèi inside
纳 nà to adopt, to accept; to receive, to take
钠 nà sodium, natrium; to sharpen wood
讷 nè inarticulate, slow; to mumble, to stammer
呐 nà to raise one's voice; to yell, to shout; to stammer
芮 ruì tiny, small; the water's edge
枘 ruì a handle for a tool
肭 nà fat, blubber; a seal
衲 nà to sew, to mend; quilt; patch; cassock
蚋 ruì mosquito, gnat