女 (nǚ): woman
女 (nǚ) is a Chinese character meaning “woman.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 女 (woman). It ranks #224 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 女 a woman turned to the side. Its radical form 女 (woman) appears in many related characters such as 奶 (nǎi, grandmother, milk), 她 (tā, she), 好 (hǎo, good).
Definitions
- woman
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA woman turned to the side
Stroke Order
Practice writing 女 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 女
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 女人noun | nǚ rén | woman | 3 |
| 女士noun | nǚ shì | lady | 1 |
| 女儿noun | nǚ ér | daughter | 1 |
| 女朋友noun | nǚ péng you | girlfriend | 1 |
| 女性noun | nǚ xìng | woman | 4 |
| 女生noun | nǚ shēng | schoolgirl | 3 |
| 女孩儿noun | nǚ hái r | erhua form of 女孩 | 2 |
| 女子noun | nǚ zǐ | woman | 5 |
| 妇女noun | fù nǚ | woman | 5 |
| 孙女noun | sūn nǚ | son's daughter | 4 |
| 子女noun | zǐ nǚ | children | 5 |
| 母女noun | mǔ nǚ | mother and daughter | 4 |
| 父女noun | fù nǚ | father and daughter | 4 |
| 儿女noun | ér nǚ | children | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 女孩noun | nǚ hái | girl |
| 美女noun | měi nǚ | beautiful woman |
| 女孩子noun | nǚ hái zi | girl |
| 妓女noun | jì nǚ | prostitute |
| 女王noun | nǚ wáng | queen |
| 女友noun | nǚ yǒu | girlfriend |
| 女郎noun | nǚ láng | young woman |
| 修女noun | xiū nǚ | nun or sister (of the Roman Catholic or Greek Orthodox churches) |
| 女神noun | nǚ shén | goddess |
| 少女noun | shào nǚ | girl |
| 女巫noun | nǚ wū | witch |
| 处女noun | chǔ nǚ | virgin |
| 男女noun | nán nǚ | male-female |
| 侄女noun | zhí nǚ | brother's daughter |
| 女仆noun | nǚ pú | female servant |
女 appears in 108 compound words: 47 as the first character, 53 as the last, and 0 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 女 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (30)
(idiom) celestial maiden of the highest heavens; (fig.) woman of extraordinary beauty
(idiom) celestial maiden of the highest heavens; (fig.) woman of extraordinary beauty
Showing 12 of 30 idioms containing 女.
Example Sentences
公司提倡男女平等，女性员工享有同样的晋升机会。
Gōngsī tíchàng nánnǚ píngděng, nǚxìng yuángōng xiǎngyǒu tóngyàng de jìnshēng jīhuì.
The company advocates gender equality; female employees have the same promotion opportunities.
小伙出售前女友送的银手镯,剪开发现内芯为30克高纯....
xiǎo huǒ chū shòu qián nǚ yǒu sòng de yín shǒu 镯 , jiǎn kāi fā xiàn nèi xīn wéi kè gāo chún . . . .
The guy sold his ex-girlfriend to send the silver bracelet, cut open and found that the core for 30 grams of high-purity ....
和首都女铁骑,做一天朋友
hé shǒu dū nǚ tiě qí , zuò yī tiān péng yǒu
I'll be friends for a day with the Capital Rangers.
逛游乐场与家人失散,5岁女童坠入路边深井大哭,男子..
guàng yóu lè chǎng yú jiā rén shī sàn , suì nǚ tóng zhuì rù lù biān shēn jǐng dà kū , nán zǐ . .
A 5-year-old girl became separated from her family while visiting an amusement park and fell into a deep roadside well, where she began crying. A man...
新春走基层丨9年前带3岁女儿开出租车的单亲妈妈,除..
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng 丨 nián qián dài suì nǚ ér kāi chū zū chē de shàn qīn mā mā , chú . .
Spring Festival Grassroots Report | Single Mom Who Drove a Taxi with Her 3-Year-Old Daughter 9 Years Ago...
喜欢男人，为什么还要和女人结婚？
Xǐhuan nánrén, wèishénme hái yào hé nǚrén jiéhūn?
Why would you marry a woman if you like men?
你是怎么认识那个好女孩的？
Nǐ shì zěnme rènshi nàge hǎo nǚhái de?
How did you come to know such a wonderful girl?
请问，这位女士是什么人？
Qǐngwèn, zhèwèi nǚshì shì shénmerén?
Excuse me, who is this woman?
如何引起女人的渴望？
Rúhé yǐnqǐ nǚrén de kěwàng?
How to arouse a woman's desire?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 女 (nǚ) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 女 have?
What is the radical of 女?
What are common words containing 女?
Is 女 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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