The character 姥 — “maternal grandmother”: how to write it and what it means
maternal grandmother
The Chinese character 姥 is read lǎo and means “maternal grandmother”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 姥
姥 has 9 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 姥, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 姥 is made of
On the left, 女 “woman”; on the right, 老 lǎo “old” — both the meaning and the sound. In 姥姥 the second syllable takes the neutral tone.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 姥
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 姥?
姥 has 9 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 姥 mean?
姥 means “maternal grandmother”. It appears in 姥姥 (“maternal grandmother”), 姥爷 (“maternal grandfather”).
How do you pronounce 姥?
姥 is read lǎo. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 姥 have?
9 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 姥 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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