woman

(nü3)

Radical no. 38 · 3 strokes (38 部首 · 3 38 bùshǒu · 3 huà)

Radical ⼥ (nǚ) — meaning: woman, 3 strokes.

Origin & mnemonic

This radical originates from a pictograph in oracle-bone and seal scripts, depicting the form of a woman with arms crossed or raised in prayer. Over time, this image was simplified into the three distinctive curved strokes we see today.

Mnemonic: Three curved strokes hugged together like the silhouette of a woman's body — easy to remember as "woman."

Characters with this radical (含此部首的字 hán cǐ bùshǒu de zì)

98 characters
  • wēi

    power

    9 strokes

  • jiāng

    ginger

    HSK 7

    9 strokes

  • baby

    9 strokes

  • jiān

    wicked

    9 strokes

  • Lóu

    surname Lou

    9 strokes

  • 姿

    beauty

    9 strokes

  • mother's sister

    HSK 7

    9 strokes

  • nuǒ

    graceful; frail and petite

    9 strokes

  • jié

    variant of 潔|洁[jie2] (mostly used in given names)

    9 strokes

  • pīn

    to be a mistress or lover

    9 strokes

  • yáo

    handsome

    9 strokes

  • shū

    pretty woman

    9 strokes

  • surname Ji

    9 strokes

  • jiāo

    cunning

    9 strokes

  • gòu

    copulate

    9 strokes

  • lǎo

    grandma (maternal)

    9 strokes

  • jiān

    variant of 姦|奸[jian1], adultery, villain

    9 strokes

  • héng

    feminine name (old)

    9 strokes

  • kuā

    fascinating

    9 strokes

  • pèi

    (used in female names)

    9 strokes

  • è

    wonderful

    9 strokes

  • yán

    variant of 妍

    9 strokes

  • chà

    (literary) beautiful

    9 strokes

  • xiǎn

    name of an ancient state

    9 strokes

  • yīn

    variant of 姻[yin1]

    9 strokes

  • guǐ

    quiet and nice

    9 strokes

  • sōng

    name of an ancient state

    9 strokes

  • hóng

    (used in female names)

    9 strokes

  • ráo

    graceful

    9 strokes

  • jiāo

    lovable

    9 strokes

  • luán

    beautiful

    9 strokes

  • jìng

    old variant of 婧[jing4]

    9 strokes

  • niáng

    variant of 娘[niang2]

    HSK 7

    10 strokes

  • miǎn

    to give birth to a child

    10 strokes

  • woman

    10 strokes

  • é

    good

    10 strokes

  • juān

    beautiful

    10 strokes

  • wife of a younger brother

    10 strokes

  • pīng

    used in 娉婷[ping1 ting2]

    10 strokes

  • used in 妯娌[zhou2 li5]

    10 strokes

  • suō

    (phonetic)

    10 strokes

  • méi

    (used in personal names)

    10 strokes

  • wěi

    used in 娓娓[wei3 wei3]

    10 strokes

  • nán

    old variant of 喃[nan2]

    10 strokes

  • to amuse

    10 strokes

  • shēn

    pregnant

    10 strokes

  • āi

    see 娭姐[ai1 jie3], father's mother

    10 strokes

  • surname Wa

    10 strokes

Related radicals (相关部首 xiāngguān bùshǒu)

Same stroke count or numerically adjacent in the 214-radical set.