The character 女 — “woman”: how to write it and what it means
woman, female
The Chinese character 女 is read nǚ and means “woman, female”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 女
女 has 3 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 女, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 女 is made of
A picture of a seated woman.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 女
- 女士Ms., madamHSK 1
- 女儿daughterHSK 1
- 女朋友girlfriendHSK 1
- 女孩儿girlHSK 2
- 女人womanHSK 3
- 女生female student, girlHSK 3
- 女性woman, femaleHSK 4
- 父女father and daughterHSK 4
- 母女mother and daughterHSK 4
- 孙女granddaughterHSK 4
- 妇女womenHSK 5
- 儿女children (warm)HSK 5
- 子女children (formal)HSK 5
- 女子woman; women's (sport)HSK 5
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 女?
女 has 3 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 女 mean?
女 means “woman, female”. It appears in 女士 (“Ms.”), 女儿 (“daughter”), 女朋友 (“girlfriend”), 女孩儿 (“girl”).
How do you pronounce 女?
女 is read nǚ. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 女 have?
3 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 女 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free