女

• Pinyin: nǚ
• Hanzi breakdown: 女 = ancient pictograph of a kneeling woman

Meaning

Female; woman. Used as a modifier to indicate the female gender.

Commonly placed before nouns to specify female gender, such as 女老师 (female teacher) or 女医生 (female doctor). As a standalone character, it means 'female' or 'woman.' It is also one of the most common radicals in Chinese characters related to women or femininity.

Examples

1. 她是一个女老师。 She is a female teacher.
2. 那个女医生很好。 That female doctor is very good.
3. 我们班有十个女同学。 There are ten female classmates in our class.

Usage Guide

Context: gender, description

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 那位女老师教数学。(That female teacher teaches maths.)
• 女生在左边，男生在右边。(Girls on the left, boys on the right.)

Don't Say

• 她是一个女的人。(Redundant — say 她是女人 or 她是女的, don't combine 女的 with 人)

Origin & History

An ancient pictograph depicting a woman kneeling, one of the oldest Chinese characters.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal