女 nǚ / nǚ — female; woman
那个女孩很喜欢唱歌。Nà ge nǚ hái hěn xǐ huan chàng gē.That girl really likes to sing.
Common words: 女人 (nǚ rén)、女儿 (nǚ ér)、女生 (nǚ shēng)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "female"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "female", including 女 (nǚ / nǚ), 母 (mǔ), 雌 (cí). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "female" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 女 (nǚ / nǚ), 母 (mǔ), 雌 (cí) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span nǚ, mǔ, cí — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 女 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 女 nǚ / nǚfemale; womanUseful words: 女人, 女儿
- 母 mǔfemale; motherUseful words: 父母, 母亲
- 雌 cífemaleUseful words: 雌雄, 雌性
Common words for these 3 "female" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 女 (nǚ / nǚ) — so "female" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "female".
母 mǔ — female; mother
母亲节我送给妈妈一束花。Mǔ qīn jié wǒ sòng gěi mā ma yí shù huā.On Mother Day I gave my mom a bouquet of flowers.
Common words: 父母 (fù mǔ)、母亲 (mǔ qīn)、字母 (zì mǔ)
雌 cí — female
在很多鸟类中，雄鸟的羽毛比雌鸟更鲜艳。Zài hěn duō niǎo lèi zhōng, xióng niǎo de yǔ máo bǐ cí niǎo gèng xiān yàn.In many birds, the male feathers are brighter than the female ones.
Common words: 雌雄 (cí xióng)、雌性 (cí xìng)、雌体 (cí tǐ)
All 3 characters
Open 女、母、雌 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.