女

Woman Radical — 女 (nǚ)

One of the oldest Chinese characters. 女 means woman or female.

• 女人 (nǚ rén) = woman
• 女儿 (nǚ’ér) = daughter

女 (nǚ) means woman or female. By itself, it is a complete word: 女人 (nǚ rén) means woman, and 女儿 (nǚ’ér) means daughter.

As a radical, 女 appears in many characters related to female family members. This is one of the most useful radical families for young learners because the words it contains are among the first a child learns in any language — family members.

女 by itself is a word, meaning a female or daughter. 

Chinese Characters with the 女 Radical

Notice the pattern: 奶奶 for grandma (dad’s side), 姥姥 for grandma (mum’s side). Chinese has separate words for maternal and paternal relatives — and most of the female ones contain the 女 radical. This makes the radical family a useful entry point for teaching family vocabulary.

A Special Character: 好

好 (hǎo) means good — and it contains 女. Look closely: the left side is 女 (woman) and the right side is 子 (zǐ, son or child).

In traditional Chinese culture, 好 symbolises the idea that having both a daughter and a son makes a perfect, complete family. A woman and a child together — good.

This etymology is a lovely story to tell children. It helps them remember both 好 and the 女 radical at the same time.

Fun Activity: Family Tree Labelling

Family Tree in Chinese

Draw a simple family tree together — using your own family or a fictional one. Write the Chinese character next to each female family member: 妈妈, 姐姐, 奶奶, 姥姥. Ask children to circle the 女 radical in each character. This is a wonderful activity because the words are immediately personal and meaningful. Children are highly motivated to learn the characters for their own family members.

Photo Labelling Game

Print or display family photos. Children write or match the correct Chinese character to each female family member in the photo. Seeing a real face next to each character makes the vocabulary stick far better than a flashcard alone. This also works beautifully as a grandparent-connection activity — send a labelled photo to grandma with the Chinese characters written by the child.

This article is about one of the most important Chinese Radicals for Children. Have a look at all the 30 Most Important Chinese Radicals and the posters that are good for both home and classroom use. 

New to radicals? Learn the difference between piānpáng (偏旁) and bùshǒu (部首).

Further Reading

• Chinese characters with the 氵(water) radical →Full character family with examples and usage
• Chinese characters with the 木 (tree) radical →Full character family — trees, wood, and furniture
• Chinese characters with the 口 (mouth) radical →Full character family with examples and usage
• Chinese characters with the 女 (woman) radical →Full character family with examples and usage
• Chinese characters with the 亻(person) radical →Pronouns and everyday action words
• Chinese characters with the 扌(hand) radical →Action verbs — push, pull, hug, throw, and more
• Chinese characters with the 艹(grass) radical →Plants, flowers, vegetables, and nature vocabulary
• 30 Most Important Chinese Radicals for Kids →The complete guide — all 30 high-frequency radicals with examples and activities
• 30 Chinese Radical Family Poster Pack – 30 beautifully illustrated posters — one for every major Chinese radical.

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