倪 (ní): surname Ni

Meanings

倪先生是我父亲的老同事。

Ní xiānsheng shì wǒ fùqīn de lǎo tóngshì.

Mr. Ni is an old colleague of my father's.

这件事终于有了一点端倪。

Zhèjiànshì zhōngyú yǒu le yìdiǎn duānní.

This matter is finally beginning to show some signs of progress.

usage

倪 is most often a surname today. In classical usage it meant a limit or edge, surviving mainly in 端倪 (the first signs / a clue of something).

radical

亻 dānrénpáng

person (radical form)

The side person radical 亻 (a left form of 人) fits the early sense of a small child, and supports its later use as a person's surname.

phonetic

兒 ér

child (here phonetic-semantic)

Right side is the traditional form of 儿 (child). It supplies the sound (ér drifting to ní) and reinforces the original "small child" meaning.

倪 ní