Usage of the character 泥

Nanniwan, township 45 km south of Yan'an 延安 ( Yán'ān), Shaanxi
"Nanniwan", a song written in 1943 to celebrate the achievements of communist revolutionaries in Nanniwan, where the 359th brigade of the Eighth Route Army reclaimed barren land as part of a campaign to become self-sufficient in food during a blockade by enemy forces

níwǎjiàng

泥瓦匠

[泥瓦匠]

bricklayer
tiler
mason

cǎonímǎ

草泥马

[草泥馬]

grass mud horse
used as a substitute for 肏你媽／肏你妈 (càonǐmā), to mock or avoid censorship on the Internet

huòxīní

和稀泥

[和稀泥]

to try to smooth things over
to paper over the issues
to gloss things over

mǒxīní

抹稀泥

[抹稀泥]

see 和稀泥 (huòxīní)

lüníshí

绿泥石

[綠泥石]

chlorite (geology)

báishuǐní

白水泥

[白水泥]

white cement

nízhìyán

泥质岩

[泥質岩]

mudstone (geology)

ruǎnnír

软泥儿

[軟泥兒]

erhua variant of 軟泥／软泥 (ruǎnní)

lǎnníchuán

罱泥船

[罱泥船]

boat used for collecting river sludge (to use as a fertilizer)

xiàngpíní

橡皮泥

[橡皮泥]

plasticine
modeling clay

yúnnízhībié

云泥之别

[雲泥之別]

(fig.) a world of difference

nítúxuānmiǎn

泥涂轩冕

[泥塗軒冕]

to despise titles and high offices

nízhìyèyán

泥质页岩

[泥質頁岩]

mudstone

wǎngnìlǐcǎi

往泥里踩

[往泥裡踩]

to belittle
to attack sb

gānggǔshuǐní

钢骨水泥

[鋼骨水泥]

reinforced concrete

pànruòyúnní

判若云泥

[判若雲泥]

as different as heaven and earth (idiom)
worlds apart

níniúrùhǎi

泥牛入海

[泥牛入海]

lit. a clay ox enters the sea (idiom); fig. to disappear with no hope of returning

tuōnídàishuǐ

拖泥带水

[拖泥帶水]

lit. wading in mud and water
a slovenly job
sloppy

lànzuìrúní

烂醉如泥

[爛醉如泥]

(idiom) to be dead drunk; to be plastered

shānníqīngxiè

山泥倾泻

[山泥傾瀉]

a landslide

nìgǔbùhuà

泥古不化

[泥古不化]

conservative and unable to adapt (idiom)

níshājùxià

泥沙俱下

[泥沙俱下]

mud and sand flow together (idiom)
good and bad mingle

gāngjīnshuǐní

钢筋水泥

[鋼筋水泥]

reinforced concrete

mǎlíngshǔní

马铃薯泥

[馬鈴薯泥]

mashed potato

xuěníhóngzhǎo

雪泥鸿爪

[雪泥鴻爪]

a goose's footprint in the snow
vestiges of the past (idiom)
the fleeting nature of human life (idiom)

yīngzuǐdòuní

鹰嘴豆泥

[鷹嘴豆泥]

hummus

guīsuānyánshuǐní

硅酸盐水泥

[硅酸鹽水泥]

Portland cement

lànnífúbùshàngqiáng

烂泥扶不上墙

[爛泥扶不上牆]

useless (idiom)
worthless
inept

chūyūní'érbùrǎn

出淤泥而不染

[出淤泥而不染]

lit. to grow out of the mud unsullied (idiom)
fig. to be principled and incorruptible

lànníhúbùshàngqiáng

烂泥糊不上墙

[爛泥糊不上牆]

see 爛泥扶不上牆／烂泥扶不上墙 (lànnífúbùshàngqiáng)

báchūluóbodàichūní

拔出萝卜带出泥

[拔出蘿蔔帶出泥]

lit. when you pull a radish out of the ground, some dirt comes up with it (idiom)
fig. to uncover, during the investigation of a crime, evidence of other crimes
to cause further problems while working on a problem

yànzixiánnílěidàwō

燕子衔泥垒大窝

[燕子銜泥壘大窩]

the swallow's nest is built one beakful of mud at a time (idiom)
many a little makes a mickle

luóbokuàilebùxǐní

萝卜快了不洗泥

[蘿蔔快了不洗泥]

when radishes are selling fast, one doesn't take the time to wash the soil off them (idiom)
fig. when business is booming, merchants tend to offer goods of inferior quality

nípúsàguòjiāng,zìshēnnánbǎo

泥菩萨过江，自身难保

[泥菩薩過江，自身難保]

like a clay Bodhisattva fording a river, can't guarantee his own safety
unable to save oneself, let alone others