woman

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."

• 嬉xī🔊

  (literary) to amuse oneself; to play; to have fun

  15 strokes

• 嬎fàn🔊

  (dialect) (of birds) to lay eggs

  15 strokes

• 嬴yíng🔊

  old variant of 贏|赢[ying2], to win, to profit

  16 strokes

• 嬔fù🔊

  (archaic) baby rabbit

  16 strokes

• 嬖bì🔊

  (treat as a) favorite

  16 strokes

• 嬗shàn🔊

  (literary) to go through successive changes; to evolve

  16 strokes

• 嬛huán🔊

  (used in names)

  16 strokes

• 嬷mó🔊

  dialectal or obsolete equivalent of 媽|妈[ma1]

  17 strokes

• 嬫róng🔊

  (used in female names)

  17 strokes

• 嬬xū🔊

  mistress, concubine

  17 strokes

• 嬲niǎo🔊

  to tease

  17 strokes

• 嬹xìng🔊

  old variant of 興|兴[xing4]

  19 strokes

• 嬿yàn🔊

  lovely

  19 strokes

• 孀shuāng🔊

  (bound form) widow

  20 strokes

• 孅xiān🔊

  cunning

  20 strokes