marks words for women · Kangxi radical 38

marks words for women, girls, and female kinship or social roles, and also serves as a sound hint in a few characters

The old graph of 女 showed a person seen from the side, kneeling or sitting with the legs folded under and the arms crossed or held forward. In the modern shape you can still trace it: the crossing strokes at the top are the arms, and the long curving stroke that sweeps down and to the right is the bent body and folded legs. As a component it usually says the word concerns a female person, as in 她 (she), 奶 (mother), 嫔 (concubine); in 汝 and 钕 it is there only for the sound.

女 at a glance

Meaning
marks words for women
Strokes
3
Characters
162
Role
Contributes meaning
Kangxi radical
38

Characters with 女 (109 of 162)

HSK 1 · 3

HSK 2 · 5

HSK 3 · 4

HSK 5 · 12

HSK 6 · 13

Beyond HSK · 72

fēi · imperial concubinehào · to be fond of; to have a tendency to; to be prone tojiān · to fornicatenān · child · thoushuò · (literary) matchmaker (on the bride's side) · deceased motherguī · name of a river · prostitutejìn · wife of mother's brothernìng · to flatterniū · girlrèn · pregnant · wife or senior concubine of husbands older brother (old) · used in 嫵媚|妩媚[wu3 mei4]yán · beautifulyāo · goblin · used in 婕妤[jie2 yu2] · old woman · old variant of 姊[zi3] · female personal name (archaic)m · used in 姆媽|姆妈[m1 ma1] · girl · neodymium (chemistry) · to marry off (a daughter)qiè · concubineshān · used in 姍姍|姗姗[shan1 shan1]zhóu · used in 妯娌[zhou2 li5]chà · (literary) beautifulhéng · feminine name (old) · princessjiāng · gingerjiāo · cunninglóu · one of the 28 lunar mansions in Chinese astronomyluán · beautiful · (phonetic na)pīn · to be a mistress or loverráo · gracefulshū · pretty woman · (literary) term of address between husbands of sistersyáo · handsomeāi · see 娭姐[ai1 jie3], father's mother · wife of a younger brotherē · variant of 婀[e1]é · good · family name of the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty 周代[Zhou1 dai4] (1046–256 BC)juān · beautiful · used in 妯娌[zhou2 li5]miǎn · to give birth to a childpīng · gracefulshēn · pregnantsuō · (phonetic) · sister of legendary emperor Fuxi 伏羲[Fu2 xi1]wěi · used in 娓娓[wei3 wei3]xián · variant of 嫻|娴[xian2] · slave girlbiǎo · prostitutechán · used in 嬋娟|婵娟[chan2 juan1] and 嬋媛|婵媛[chan2 yuan2]chāng · prostitutejié · used in 婕妤[jie2 yu2]jìng · (literary) (of a woman) slender; delicateshěn · wife of father's younger brotherwǎn · gracefulān · used in 媕婀[an1 e1]ǎo · old womanmèi · (bound form) to flattertíng · gracefulduò · old variant of 惰[duo4] · beautiful婿 · son-in-lawyuán · used in 嬋媛|婵媛[chan2 yuan2]ài · used in 令嬡|令嫒[ling4 ai4]

Frequently asked questions

What does the component 女 mean?

女 means "marks words for women". In the characters that contain it, it contributes meaning.

How many Chinese characters contain 女?

162 characters in this dictionary contain 女, including ones at HSK 1, HSK 2, HSK 3, HSK 5, HSK 6.

Is 女 a radical?

Yes — 女 is Kangxi radical 38, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.

How many strokes does 女 have?

女 is written in 3 strokes.