娘 (niáng): mother
娘 (niáng) is a Chinese character meaning “mother.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 女 (semantic) and 良 (phonetic). It ranks #881 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 娘 woman. Its radical form 女 (woman) appears in many related characters such as 女 (nǚ, woman), 奶 (nǎi, grandmother, milk), 她 (tā, she).
Definitions
- mother
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 娘 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 娘
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 娘娘腔noun | niáng niang qiāng | sissy |
| 伴娘noun | bàn niáng | bridesmaid |
| 灰姑娘proper-noun | huī gū niang | Cinderella |
| 婆娘noun | pó niang | (dialect) wife |
| 娘娘noun | niáng niang | queen |
| 老娘noun | lǎo niáng | my old mother |
| 娘家noun | niáng jiā | wife's family (before marriage) |
| 老板娘noun | lǎo bǎn niáng | female proprietor |
| 娘子noun | niáng zǐ | (dialect) form of address for one's wife |
| 娘儿们noun | niáng r men | (dialect) woman |
| 奶娘noun | nǎi niáng | (dialect) wet nurse |
| 娘胎noun | niáng tāi | womb |
| 丈母娘noun | zhàng mǔ niáng | wife's mother |
| 爹娘noun | diē niáng | (dialect) parents |
| 大娘noun | dà niáng | (coll.) father's older brother's wife |
娘 appears in 72 compound words: 22 as the first character, 57 as the last, and 21 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 娘 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
娘家的父母年纪大了，需要人照顾。
Niángjiā de fùmǔ niánjì dà le, xūyào rén zhàogù.
Her parents are getting old and need someone to take care of them.
富商一原因找:可让媳妇回娘家扫墓的女婿
fù shāng yī yuán yīn zhǎo : kě ràng xí fù huí niáng jiā sǎo mù de nǚ xù
A wealthy man is looking for a son-in-law who will let his wife return to her parents' home to visit their graves
影音/辉达夜市开张! 眷村面老板娘要黄仁勋孕肚上签名
yǐng yīn huī dá yè shì kāi zhāng ! 眷 cūn miàn lǎo bǎn niáng yāo huáng rén xūn yùn dù shàng qiān míng
Video/NVIDIA Night Market Opens! The owner of a military dependents' village noodle shop asks Jensen Huang to sign her baby bump
警匪追逐险撞店 板娘目睹拔枪吓喊要收惊
jǐng fěi zhuī zhú xiǎn zhuàng diàn bǎn niáng mù dǔ bá qiāng hè hǎn yāo shōu jīng
Police-Criminal Chase Nearly Crashes Into Store; Shop Owner Witnesses Gun Draw, Screams in Terror and Asks for a Ritual to Ward Off Evil Spirits
俄罗斯女婿给丈母娘磕头拜年:不是必须做,是我所能表..
é luó sī nǚ xù gěi zhàng mǔ niáng kē tóu bài nián bù shì bì xū zuò , shì wǒ suǒ néng biǎo . .
Russian son-in-law kowtowed to his mother-in-law for New Year's Eve: it's not mandatory, it's the best I can do...
请诸位斟满酒，为新郎和新娘干杯！
Qǐng zhūwèi zhēn mǎn jiǔ, wèi xīnláng hé xīnniáng gānbēi!
Please charge your glasses and drink a toast to the bride and groom!
慎也娶了个漂亮姑娘。
Shènyě qǔ le ge piàoliang gūniang.
Shinya married a pretty girl.
四位姑娘之中最美的是南希。
Sì wèi gūniang zhīzhōng zuì měi de shì Nánxī.
Nancy is the most beautiful of the four girls.
等待一位漂亮的姑娘是我的荣幸。
Děngdài yī wèi piàoliang de gūniang shì wǒ de róngxìng.
It is my pleasure to wait for a beautiful lady.
别对我放肆，小姑娘!
Bié duì wǒ fàngsì, xiǎogū niáng!
Don't get sassy with me young lady!
Character Family
Homophones — Characters pronounced niáng
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 娘 (niáng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 娘 and 浪?
How many strokes does 娘 have?
What is the radical of 娘?
What are the components of 娘?
What are common words containing 娘?
What characters sound the same as 娘 (niáng)?
Is 娘 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 娘 with real-time feedback
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