女
The 女 radical
Woman, female
Memory hook
A woman sitting with her hands folded in front
The 女 radical (read nǚ) means woman, female. The HSK 3.0 data contains 53 characters and 222 words built on it — learning them together is far faster than one character at a time.
Practise the 女 radical
Study this radical's 222 words with flashcards or a quiz.
The free plan drills 15 words per radical. Upgrade to Premium
Characters with the 女 radical
53 charactersThe free plan shows 9 characters per HSK level (33/53 characters of this radical).
HSK 1· 7 characters
HSK 1女
woman, female
奶
milk
她
she, her
好
good; well; fine
妈
mom
妹
younger sister
姐
older sister
HSK 2· 2 characters
HSK 2如
like, as
姓
surname; family name
HSK 3· 5 characters
HSK 3始
to begin, start
姑
aunt (father's sister)
娘
mother
婚
marriage, to marry
媒
matchmaker, go-between
HSK 4· 4 characters
HSK 4妇
woman
妻
wife
姨
aunt
婆
old woman, granny
HSK 5· 1 characters
HSK 5委
entrust, commit
HSK 6· 5 characters
HSK 6妙
wonderful
威
might; majesty
娃
child
娱
to have fun; to amuse oneself
嫌
to dislike; to mind
HSK 7-9· 9 characters
HSK 7-9奴
slave
奸
treacherous, scheming, sinister
妄
absurd, fanciful
妆
to put on makeup
妒
to envy; to be jealous of
妖
demon, monster
妥
appropriate, proper, settled
妨
to hinder; to obstruct
姆
wet nurse, nanny
Vocabulary with the 女 radical
222 wordsWords containing at least one character with the 女 radical, ordered by HSK level.
The free plan shows 9 words per HSK level (63/222 words of this radical).
best
woman, female
woman
daughter
girl
girlfriend
female student, girl
milk
paternal grandmother, grandma
to feel embarrassed
not as good as; inferior to
for example; such as
friendly
a long time; quite a while
a good deed; a good thing
good person
it seems; apparently
benefit; advantage
to have no choice but to; to be forced to
woman; female
milk tea; bubble tea
curious
properly; nicely; in a good manner
how; in what way
from beginning to end; all along
girl; young woman
media; mass media
supposing, if
auntie, ma'am (an affectionate way to address an older woman)
older sister (an affectionate way to address a woman slightly older than oneself)
husband and wife, a married couple
husband and wife
lady, woman
to like, to be fond of, to be keen on
close friend, good friend
nowadays, today
it's okay, that's fine
children
primitive, primordial
women
lucky, fortunate
as follows
like; as if
like so; to such an extent
to entrust; to commission
media
just right, exactly
multimedia
wonderful, marvelous
dairy cow
milk powder
with great difficulty, only after much effort
as if, like
eager to learn, studious
as always, as before
or rather, it would be more accurate to say
might as well, no harm in
housewife, woman who manages the household
relatives and friends
fairy; goddess
domestic helper; nanny
founder
to cheer on, to root for
Why learn vocabulary by the 女 radical?
The 女 radical hints at the meaning woman, female. When you meet an unfamiliar character carrying it, you already know part of its meaning before reaching for a dictionary — which is why learners who know their radicals move faster.
How to study: read the memory hook, skim the 53 characters to spot the pattern, then drill the 222 words with flashcards. Spaced repetition brings each word back exactly when you need it.