Chinese word

女

Pronunciation

Pinyinnǚ

Meaning

  • nounwoman

Example

门口写着男和女。mén kǒu xiě zhe nán hé nǚ

The words 'men' and 'women' are written at the entrance.

Illustration for 女 (woman)

More examples

女孩子在公园玩。nǚ hái zi zài gōng yuán wán

The girl is playing in the park.

Core concept

A simple picture of a woman that can also mark women or maternal links inside other characters.

Common phrases

  • 女孩子nǚ hái zi

    girl

  • 女儿nǚ ér

    daughter

  • 女人nǚ rén

    woman

Similar words

女孩nǚ hái: A young girl or female child.
女儿nǚ ér: A daughter in relation to her parent or parents.
女人nǚ rén: A woman who has reached adulthood, in everyday speech.
女性nǚ xìng: A woman or the female gender, expressed in a formal, neutral way.

Definition in Chinese

表示女性或女性身份的汉字，也常作为偏旁（女字旁）出现在许多合成字中以提示与女性或母系有关的含义。biǎo shì nǚ xìng huò nǚ xìng shēn fèn de hàn zì yě cháng zuò wéi piān páng nǚ zì páng chū xiàn zài xǔ duō hé chéng zì zhōng yǐ tí shì yǔ nǚ xìng huò mǔ xì yǒu guān de hán yì

Word origin

The early shape of 女 (nǚ, "woman") showed a woman sitting with folded legs, which helps explain its later use as a component linked with women and maternal relatives.

Usage tips

  • A character with 女 (nǚ, "woman") may have a meaning beyond women, as 好 (hǎo, "good") shows, because each part contributes only part of the word's meaning.

Other meanings

  • femaleadjective

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word