Nu Ceti is a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Cetus. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from ý Ceti, and abbreviated ý Ceti or ý Cet. This system is visible to the naked eye as a faint point of light with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 4.86. It is located approximately 340 light years distant from the Sun, based on parallax measurements, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of 4.8 km/s. Nu Ceti is believed to be part of the Ursa Major stream of co-moving stars.
In Chinese, (), meaning Circular Celestial Granary, refers to an asterism consisting of ñ Ceti, ú<sup>1</sup> Ceti, û Ceti, ü Ceti, þ<sup>1</sup> Ceti, þ<sup>2</sup> Ceti, ý Ceti, ó Ceti, ô Ceti, 75 Ceti, 70 Ceti, 63 Ceti and 66 Ceti. Consequently, the Chinese name for ý Ceti itself is "the Seventh Star of Circular Celestial Granary", .
The primary, designated component A, forms a single-lined spectroscopic binary with an orbital period of and an eccentricity of 0.27. The visible component is a G-type giant star, currently on the horizontal branch, with a stellar classification of G8III. In addition to the spectroscopic companion there is a visual companion star which shares a common proper motion with Nu Ceti A, designated component B; an F-type main-sequence star with a class of F7V and a 9.08 apparent visual magnitude located 8.0 arcsec away. It was discovered by Struve.