泥
ní , nì · HSK 6
mud
🟤 Sounds like knee — you kneel and your knee sinks into the mud
Water (氵) beside 尼 (ní, a sound component). The radical tells you it is something wet or liquid-related, and the right side gives the pronunciation. Mud is wet earth, hence the water radical.
泥 — water radical 氵 + 尼 (phonetic)
泥 is a phono-semantic compound. The water radical 氵 indicates a connection to water or wetness, while 尼 (ní) supplies the pronunciation. Together they denote 'mud'—earth mixed with water—and by extension soft, sticky substances like plaster or paste.