Yixing duanni teapotThe term "yixing clay", and also "zisha clay", is often used as an umbrella term to describe three distinct types of stoneware:

 

Zisha or zini (紫砂 or 紫泥 ; literally, "purple clay sand"): dark brownish stoneware that gives its name to the type of stoneware usually related to yixing.

 

Zhuni (朱泥; literally, "cinnabar clay"): reddish brown stoneware that is made from clay with a very high iron content. The name only refers to the sometimes bright red hue of cinnabar (朱砂; pinyin: zhūshā). There are currently 10 mines still producing zhuni[citation needed]. However, due to the increasing demand for Yixing stoneware, zhuni is now in very limited quantities. Zhuni clay is not to be confused with hongni (红泥, literally, "red clay", another red clay.

 

Duanni (鍛泥; literally, "fortifed clay"): stoneware that was formulated using various stones and minerals in addition to zini or zhuni clay. This results in various textures and colours, ranging from beige, blue, and green (绿泥), to black.