The Chinese Radical: 女


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Meaning
woman    女

Explanation The character for tall 大 shows a person 人 with outstretched arms 一. If you shift the lower strokes towards each other, you can get the: woman 女. The wider lower area can be understood as female hips?

Used in these characters:
JLPT HSK 1
good, well, proper
hǎo, hào
Left: woman 女, right: child 子 (A child with an outsized head 乛, body 丿 and two support-seeking arms 一.)
Women and children are good.  
JLPT HSK 1
she

Left: woman 女, right: also/too 也 (shows a twisted creature like snake or scorpion.)
A woman is also a "She".  
JLPT HSK 1
female, woman, daughter


Image of a sitting woman with crossed legs and spread arms.  
JLPT HSK 1
mother, mom

Left: woman 女, right: horse 马 (=馬 with mane, four legs 灬 and tail ㄅ)
The woman who works as hard as a horse, is my mother.  
JLPT HSK 1
elder sister
jiě
Left: woman 女, right: furthermore 且 (A pile of stones [= a stone cairn] where moreover stones are added.)
(From a child's point of view) The woman as tall as a stone-pile is my elder sister.  
JLPT HSK 2
to begin, to start, then, only then
shǐ
Left: woman 女, right: platform 台 (The nose 厶 over the mouth 口 is like a platform.)
The lady on the platform begins.  
JLPT HSK 2
a need, to demand, to request, must
yāo, yào
西
Top: west 覀/西 (Under the horizon 一 the sun 日 sinks 儿 at the sunset in the west.) [Here: 覀 as a handbag with a big handle], bottom: woman 女
A handbag is for women: a need.  
JLPT HSK 2
wife, to marry off (a daughter)
qī, qì
From top: ten 十, hand /彐, woman 女
(very hardworking) The ten-handed woman: that's my wife.  
JLPT HSK 2
family name, surname
xìng
Left: woman 女, right: life 生 (The twig ノ at the growing plant stands for life.)
The woman lives under her family name.  
JLPT HSK 2
younger sister
mèi
left: woman 女, right: not yet, immature 未 (The upper shorter branch 一 of the tree 木 is "not yet".)
This woman, who is "not yet a woman", is my: younger sister.  
JLPT HSK 2
breast, milk, breast-feed
nǎi
Left: woman 女, right: therefore, thus 乃 (pregnancy belly [side view] cf. pregnancy 孕, where a child 子 comes out of that womb 乃)
A woman with a pregnancy belly has breasts for feeding.  
JLPT HSK 3
as, as if, such as

Left: woman 女, right: mouth 口
The women's mouths are as such.  
JLPT HSK 3
peaceful, calm, content, safety
ān
Top: roof 宀, below: woman 女
Under the roof, a woman makes it peaceful.  
JLPT HSK 3
to marry, marriage, wedding, to take a wife
hūn
Left: woman 女, right: dusk/nightfall 昏 (The family 氏 sits in the sun 日 at dusk.) [氏 = A distorted person 人 = 亻= 厂 together with a "plus +" as a multiplier results in a family.]
The woman comes into the family/clan 氏 at the day 日 of the marriage.  
JLPT HSK 3
to contact with, to connect, to welcome sb., to receive
jiē
Left: hand 扌, right: stand 立, woman 女
(Shake) hands and stand up for the woman you want to make contact with.  
JLPT HSK 3
mother's younger sister, aunt

Left: woman 女, right: barbarian 夷 (= They have big 大 bows 弓) - (Here: variation of younger brother 第. His bamboo 竹 was simplified to a line 一)
The woman, who is like my younger brother is the younger aunt.  
JLPT HSK 5
clever, wonderful, splendid, fantastic
miào
Left: woman 女, right: few/little 少 (A small 小 stroke ノ is too few)
Among women, there are few who are clever and wonderful???  
JLPT HSK 5
mother, young lady, bride
niáng
Left: woman 女, right: good 良
The woman who is good, is the mother.  
JLPT HSK 5
grandmother, mother-in-law, matron

Top: wave 波 (The water 氵has this skin 皮) [skin 皮 = A hand 又 with a knife 丨 peels off the skin 厂], below: woman 女
The 'waved' (= with wrinkled skin) woman is my: grandmother.  
JLPT HSK 5
married woman

Left: woman 女, right: hand /彐 (traditional: 婦 with a broom in the hand)
The woman who gave her hand, (or is with a broom?) is a married woman.  
JLPT HSK 5
waist, lower back, middle, loins
yāo
西
Left: body part 月/肉, right: need/request 要 (A handbag 覀/西 is, what women 女 need.) [west 西 = Under the horizon 一 the sun 日 sinks 儿 at the sunset in the west.]
(Asian women have less 'butt':) A body part of western 西 women is the waist.  
JLPT HSK 5
intermediary, matchmaker, go-between, media/news
méi
Left: woman 女, right: a certain 某 (the sweet 甘 tree 木 is a certain)
The women go to the sweet tree, that is acting as intermediary (matchmaker).  
JLPT HSK 5
authority, power, prestige
wēi
Outside: garrison 戍 (persons 人 (= ノ+ 一) with halberds 戈), woman 女
When the person with that halberd stands with one leg 一 above a woman, he has a powerful authority.  
JLPT HSK 5
soft, tender, delicate, light (color)
nèn
Left: woman 女, right: imperial order 敕 (It comes in a bundle 束 and strikes 攵: the imperial order) [to strike 攵/攴= hand 又 with stick 卜]
(Manufacturing process for flax fiber by beating) By women the bundle is beaten to until it is: soft.  
JLPT HSK 5
paternal aunt, husband's sister, husband's mother (old)

Left: woman 女, right: old 古 (originally a skull, but better the image of a tomb stone)
The woman who is old, is the paternal aunt.  
JLPT HSK 5
obstruction, hinder, harm
fáng
Left: woman 女, right: direction/square 方
A woman at my side would be obstructing???  
姿
JLPT HSK 5
appearance, beauty, disposition, looks

Top: next/following 次 (ice 冫is lacking 欠 [yawning person], what comes next?), below: woman 女
My next woman will have a great appearance.  
JLPT HSK 5
to entrust, to accumulate, committee member
wēi, wěi
Top: rice plant 禾, bottom: woman 女
Rice plants can women be entrusted.  
JLPT HSK 5
marriage connections
yīn
Left: woman 女, right: cause/reason 因 (For the fence 囗 around the tall person 大 is a reason.)
Women are the cause of marriage connections.  
JLPT HSK 5
(of a woman) to marry, to shift (blame etc)
jià
Left: woman 女, right: household 家 (Under the roof 宀 with the personal pig 豕)
The woman for the household is the bride.  
JLPT HSK 5
banquet, feast, repose
yàn
From top: roof 宀, sun 日, woman 女
Under the roof the sunny woman hosts a banquet.  
JLPT HSK 5
entertain, amuse

Left: woman 女, right: 吴 (mouth 口 and sky 天)
A woman with a mouth that is heaven-like, can be entertaining.  
JLPT HSK 5
to take a wife, to marry (a woman)

Top: take, fetch 取 (at ear 耳 by hand 又 to grasp), bottom: woman 女
To "take a woman" means to marry.  
JLPT HSK 5
grandmother (maternal), old woman
lǎo, mǔ
Left: woman 女, right: old, experienced 老 (old man 耂 as a sitting person 匕)
The woman of the old sitting man is: the grandmother.  
JLPT HSK 6
nanny, woman who looks after small children

Left: woman 女, right: mother 母 (= woman 女 with emphasized, swollen bosom : when breast-feeding)
This woman stand for the mother: The nanny!  
JLPT HSK 6
to dislike, suspicion, resentment, enmity
xián
Left: woman 女, right: combine, twice, concurrently 兼 (A hand ナ/ヨ holds two rice plants 禾 combined.)
(Women want a monogamous partnership:) If women do it in combination, she dislikes it.  
JLPT HSK 6
baby, doll, pretty girl

Left: woman 女, right: double earth 圭
The woman brings behind the two heaps of earth the baby to the earth.  
JLPT HSK 6
suitable, adequate, ready, settled
tuǒ
Top: hand reaching down 爫, below: woman 女
The hands reaching down (= caring) of the women settle the suitable adequately.  
JLPT HSK 6
absurd, fantastic, presumptuous, rash
wàng
Top: death 亡 (coffin in cross-section), below: woman 女
He considered the death of his woman, to be: absurd.  
JLPT HSK 6
infant, baby
yīng
Top: 2x money 贝 (here: nipple 人 in a sucking mouth 冂), bottom: woman 女
Sucking mouths at the woman's nipples indicate infants/babies.  
JLPT HSK 6
older brother's wife, sister-in-law
sǎo
Left: woman 女, right: old gentleman 叟 (supports himself with hands E, 彐 on a stick 丨, which serves as 3rd hand 又.)
The woman of the old gentleman is that sister-in-law.  
JLPT HSK 6
tender, frail, lovable, pampered, delicate
jiāo
Left: woman 女, right: tall 乔 (top:夭, here: sky 天: [Sky-天-long legs 丿| make tall.])
A woman with sky-long legs is tender and frail.  
JLPT HSK 6
to play with, to juggle
shuǎ
Top: beard 而 (closed mouth 一 with a beard 皿), bottom: woman 女
The beards are liked by women: To play with.  
JLPT HSK 6
sad, mournful, ice-cold frigid, dismal, grim, bleak

Left: ice 冫, right: wife 妻 (The ten 十-handed woman 女 is my [hardworking] wife.)
My ice-cold wife makes me: sad.  
JLPT HSK 6
daughter in law

Left: woman 女, right: breath 息 (I myself 自 and my heart 心 need a breath.)
The wife of him who derives from 'myself' and has my heart: My daughter in law.  
JLPT HSK 6
to envy (success, talent), jealous

Left: woman 女, right: sliding door 戸
The woman (behind) the sliding door is full of envy.  
JLPT HSK 6
make-up, adornment, dress up
zhuāng
Left: bed 丬 (here: a mirror丨 with a wall holder (socket) 冫), right: woman 女
In front of the mirror is the woman doing the: make-up.  
JLPT HSK 6
jealousy, be jealous of

Left: woman 女, right: illness/quick 疾 (The disease 疒 is arrow-矢-like fast, because it makes sick quickly.)
This woman is sick of jealousy.  
JLPT HSK 6
slave, servant

Left: woman 女, right: hand 又
Women's hands work like slaves.  
JLPT HSK 6
greedy, avaricious, rapacious, insatiable
lán
Top: forest 林, bottom: women 女
Whoever sees the "forest" (= personal property) above "women" (= social contacts) is greedy.  
JLPT no HSK
concubine, woman

Left: woman 女, right: minister, state official 臣 (An eye wide open represents the attentiveness of a minister)
The woman for the state official is the concubine.  
JLPT no HSK
ginger
jiāng
Top: sheep 羊 (The horned 丷 animal with a backbone 丨 and laterally protruding due to thick wool 三 is the: sheep), bottom: woman 女
The sheep is spiced by the woman with: ginger.  
JLPT no HSK
elegant, graceful
nuó
Left: woman 女, right: this, those 那 (A double-二 edged sword 刀 in the village⻏, what means this?)
The woman with that double-edged sword in the village, wants to be elegant.  
JLPT no HSK
prostitute

Left: woman 女, right: support, twig 支 (hand 又 that holds a twig 十)
The woman shows with a twig, that she is a prostitute.  
JLPT no HSK
cherry
yīng
Left: tree 木, right: infant, baby 婴 (Sucking mouths 冂 at the nipples 人 of the woman 女 indicate infants/babies - Here: 贝 as hanging cherries
The tree with hanging cherries for the woman is: the cherry.  
JLPT no HSK
good, beautiful
é
Left: woman 女, right: I, me 我 (In my hand 手 a halberd 戈 and I am myself.)
The woman of mine is good and beautiful.  
JLPT no HSK
to pacify, soothe, to appease
suí
Left: thread 纟/糸, right: to settle sth. adequately 妥 (The hands 爫 of the women 女 settle the suitable)
(When taming animals) Threads settle adequately the: pacifying.  
JLPT no HSK
graceful, tactful
wǎn
Left: woman 女, right: "as if", similar 宛 (When I at home 宀 in the evening 夕 slump 㔾 (e.g. on the TV-coach) it's always just similar.)
(a particular ideal of beauty) Women who are similar, are for him: appealing.  
JLPT no HSK
address term between sons-in-law

Left: woman 女, right: relatively weak 亚 (Put a plank 一 on the volcanic vent 业 because is relatively weak.)
The woman with the weak (family relation) is the: daughter-in-law.  
JLPT no HSK
older sister

Left: woman 女, right: variant of younger brother 弟
The woman who takes care of the half-finished younger brother is: the older sister.  
JLPT no HSK
witch, devil, demon, goblin, enchanting
yāo
Left: woman 女, right: early death 夭 (don't mistake with sky 天)
The woman, who brings the early death is a witch.  
JLPT no HSK
wife of father's younger brother
shěn
Left: woman 女, right: to examine, to investigate 审
The woman who talks (very much) under the roof is: this aunt.  
JLPT no HSK
maid servant, slave girl

Left: woman 女, vulgar/low 卑 (A such untidy field 田 is tenfold 十 vulgar.)
The woman which is vulgar/low is: the maid servant.  
JLPT no HSK
traitor, adultery, wicked, crafty
jiān
Left: woman 女, right: dry 干 (laundry rack)
The woman who is conspicuously "dry" is the traitor.  
JLPT no HSK
flatter, charm
mèi
Left: woman 女, right: eyebrow 眉 (The eye 目 is framed 尸 by a lateral eyebrow.)
Women can use the eyebrows for flattering.  
婿
JLPT no HSK
son-in-law

Left: woman 女, right: 胥 (var. of correct/proper 正, body 月)
The woman wants a "proper body" as son-in-law.  
JLPT no HSK
you, thou

Left: water 氵, right: woman 女
Water and women, that is needed by: you!  
JLPT no HSK
a legendary beauty who flew to the moon, the lady in the moon
cháng
Left: woman 女, right: usually 常 (His esteem 尚 is given to this cloth 巾 usually.)
A woman should usually be in the moon.  
JLPT no HSK
girl, phonetic "ni" (in girl's name)

Left woman 女, right: Buddist nun 尼 (buttock from the side 尸, sitting person 匕)
A woman, sitting like a nun, is: a girl.  
JLPT no HSK
young girl
niū
Left: woman 女, right: ugly 丑 (The devil 鬼 was simplified to the ugly: 丑, here: part of mother 母)
The woman, who is only a part of a mother is: a young girl.  
JLPT no HSK
to be skilled at, refined, elegant
xián
Left: woman 女, right: leasure, free time 闲 (Through the gate 门/門 out to the trees 木, when you are at leisure)
(With experience, the work goes faster) If the woman wants free time, she has to be skilled.  
JLPT no HSK
graceful, beautiful
juān
Left: woman 女, right: small worm 肙 (The head 口 is as big as the body 月/肉)
(elegant restraint) A woman who is like a small worm, is considered as graceful?  
JLPT no HSK
concubine, female servant
qiè
Top: to stand 立, bottom: woman 女
The standing woman is the: concubine.  
JLPT no HSK
imperial concubine
fēi
Left: woman 女, right: self 己 (Following the winding path I find myself.)
The woman herself is a concubine.  
JLPT no HSK
handsome, good-looking
yáo
Left: woman 女, right: sign, omen 兆 (cracks in a turtle shell, used for divination.)
A woman has the "signs" of good looking.  
JLPT no HSK
mushroom

Top: plant 艹, bottom: paternal aunt 姑 (the woman 女 who is old 古)
The plants (collected) by the old women, are the: mushrooms.  
JLPT no HSK
all of a sudden, drizzle
shà
Top: rain 雨 (= window 冂 with cloud 一 and drops 丶丶), right: concubine 妾 (The standing 立 woman 女 is the: concubine.)
In the rain is standing a woman (and says:) It came suddenly.  
JLPT no HSK
amusement

Left: woman 女, right: to be happy, enjoy 喜 (A scholar 士 with beans 豆 in his mouth 口 is happy.)
Women are happy with amusement.  
JLPT no HSK
to visit a prostitute
piáo
Left: woman 女, right: ticket, bank note 票 (In the west 覀/西 you show 示 your ticket) [West: 西 = Under the horizon 一 the sun 日 sinks 儿 at the sunset in the west]
For the woman you need a ticket, when: visiting a prostitute.  
JLPT no HSK
dam, embankment, dike, bank, weir
yàn
Left: earth 土, right: 匽 (frame 匚, sun 日 (here: simplified field 田), woman 女)
The earth that (protects) as a frame the (simplified) fields and the women is: a dam.  
JLPT no HSK
parrot
yīng
Left: infant, baby 婴 (Sucking mouths 冂 at the nipples 人 of the woman 女 indicate infants/babies), right: bird 鸟
Like an infant (talks) this bird: the parrot.  
JLPT no HSK
beautiful, sweet, captivating, engaging
yān
Left: woman 女, right: where, how 焉 (Is it correct 正, that the bird 鳥 has no head: How? Where?)
The woman does it correctly when being like a bird: captivatingly beautiful.  
JLPT no HSK
be pregnant
rèn
Left: woman 女, right: burden 壬 (spindle on which a thread is wound up)
The woman carries the burden of pregnancy.  
JLPT no HSK
prostitute
chāng
Left: woman 女, right: to flourish 昌 (Two suns 日 and it is flourishing)
The woman like two suns is: the prostitute.  
JLPT no HSK
pregnant
shēn
Left: woman 女, right: early morning 辰 = image of: plowing (At the field corner 厂 a first line 一 is plowed by the farmer 农.)
Women who were "plowed" are in pregnancy.  
JLPT no HSK
graceful
tíng
Left: woman 女, right: pavilion, kiosk 亭 (Tall like a high 高 nail 丁 is this pavilion.)
The woman (vendor) at the kiosk (pavilion) is graceful.  
JLPT no HSK
direct line of descent, son of first wife

Left: woman 女, right: old emperor (mélange of emperor 帝 [He stands 立 and is covered 冖 with cloth 巾] and old 古)
The (first) wife of the old emperor stands for the line of descent.  
JLPT no HSK
to proceed slowly, leisurely, to deprecate, agile, graceful
shān
Left: woman 女, right: book, booklet 册 (Here: two person 冂 walking hand-in-hand 一)
When women go 'hand-in-hand', they: proceeding slowly.  
JLPT no HSK
to match, to pair, equal, to compare, to marry

Left: woman 女, right: variation of trash can 㐫, to compare: 比 (There are two sitting 匕 persons: Compare them)
When the woman puts something in the trash can and then compares it, everything inside is in: matching /pairing.  
JLPT no HSK
beautiful, graceful
chán
Left: woman 女, right: single, individual 单 (It shines 丷 the sun 日 in a group of ten 十 [with nine planets] as the single one.)
The woman is the only/single beautiful.  
JLPT no HSK
imperial concubine
pín
Left: woman 女, right: guest, visitor 宾 (Under your roof 宀 a soldier 兵 is billeted as your guest.)
The woman for the guests is a concubine.  
JLPT no HSK
enchanting, agreeable, active, comply with
wěi
Left: woman 女, right: tail, remainder 尾 (The hair 毛 at the buttocks 尸)
Women with (horse)tails can be enchanting.  

Radicals are shown here that are similar either in appearance or meaning.

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