The character 妻 — “wife”: how to write it and what it means

妻
qī

wife

8 strokes · HSK 2

The Chinese character 妻 is read qī and means “wife”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.

Stroke order: how to write 妻

妻 has 8 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 妻, with strokes to trace and empty squares.

What 妻 is made of

Below, 女 “woman”.

The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.

Words with 妻

Frequently asked questions

How do you write the character 妻?

妻 has 8 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 妻 mean?

妻 means “wife”. It appears in 妻子 (“wife”), 夫妻 (“husband and wife”).

How do you pronounce 妻?

妻 is read qī. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.

How many strokes does 妻 have?

8 strokes.

← 夫 husband长 long →

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 妻 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.

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