The mononuclear Ni(II) amide, [Ni(C(12)H(21)N(2)Si)(2)], has the Ni(II) atom N,N'-chelated by the N-silylated anilinide ligands. The ligands are arranged cis to each other and obey the C(2)-symmetry operation. The two ends of the N-Si-N chelating unit exhibit different affinities for the metal atom: the Ni-N(anilinide) bond length is 1.913 (3) Å and Ni-N(amine) is 2.187 (3) Å. The four-coordinate Ni(II) ion demonstrates a distorted tetra-hedral geometry.