女

See also: タ, ヌ, ㄆ, ㄡ, 又, 夂, 夊, 夕, 支, 攴, 攵, 文, 歹, 歺, 𡚦, and 𠨰

女 U+5973, 女 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5973 ← 奲 [U+5972] CJK Unified Ideographs 奴 → [U+5974]

⼥ U+2F25, ⼥ KANGXI RADICAL WOMAN ← ⼤ [U+2F24] Kangxi Radicals ⼦ → [U+2F26]

女 U+F981, 女 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F981 ← 呂 [U+F980] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 廬 → [U+F982]

㊛ U+329B, ㊛ CIRCLED IDEOGRAPH FEMALE ← ㊚ [U+329A] Enclosed CJK Letters and Months ㊜ → [U+329C]

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character

女 (Kangxi radical 38, 女+0, 3 strokes, cangjie input 女 (V), four-corner 4040₀, composition ⿻𡿨丆(GJKV) or ⿻𡿨𠂇(HT))

1. Kangxi radical #38, ⼥.

Derived characters

• Appendix:Chinese radical/女, 奻, 㚣, 姦
• 㚢, 𠯆, 𡥃, 𢑒, 𫹌, 𢖵, 汝, 𣅓, 𪱴, 𤖩, 𤘙, 𤣷, 肗, 𤯕, 𫀁, 籹, 𦘽, 𫌜, 𫌳, 𧴱, 𧺜, 𨐎, 釹(钕), 𩖠, 𩚔, 𩨚, 𫶯, 𠚰, 邚, 䎟, 䶯
• 㣽, 𭴇, 𥁅, 𠕷, 𡉓, 安, 𢇘, 𦬑, 𢨭, 𣱘, 𥤨, 𥫭, 娄, 耍, 要, 𮡎, 𦯽, 𤕢, 𫒈, 𩁻, 蒆, 𫘺, 䆯, 䶒, 𨳐, 囡
• 佞, 𣍲, 㓂, 宼, 窛, 桜, 珱, 䋝, 䧪, 巕

Descendants

• め (Hiragana character derived from man'yōgana)
• メ (Katakana character derived from man'yōgana)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 254, character 22
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6036
• Dae Jaweon: page 516, character 19
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1023, character 23
• Unihan data for U+5973

• Unihan data for U+F981

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 女
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (女) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
拿	*rnaː
拏	*rnaː
詉	*rnaː
蒘	*rnaː, *na
笯	*rnaː, *naː, *naːs
挐	*rnaː, *na
絮	*rnaːs, *nas, *snas, *nas
呶	*rnaːw
怓	*rnaːw
帑	*n̥ʰaːŋʔ, *naː
奴	*naː
砮	*naː, *naːʔ
駑	*naː
孥	*naː
努	*naːʔ
弩	*naːʔ
怒	*naːʔ, *naːs
袽	*na
帤	*na
女	*naʔ, *nas
籹	*naʔ
恕	*hnjas
如	*nja, *njas
茹	*nja, *njaʔ, *njas
洳	*nja, *njas
鴽	*nja
蕠	*nja
汝	*njaʔ
肗	*njaʔ

Pictogram (象形) : a woman with breasts kneeling or standing. In modern form turned on left side: enclosed area is remnant of left breast (character's left, depicted woman's right), while right breast has disappeared.

Graphically cognate to 母 (mǔ, “mother”) and 毋, which has developed similarly, but also includes dots for nipples and has retained both breasts. Compare Egyptian 𓁐.

Similar but unrelated to 卩, in which the person kneeling has unspecified gender.

Etymology 1

trad.		女
simp. #		女
alternative forms		𠨰

女性

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *nja-ŋ/k (“woman”). Compare Tibetan ཉག་མོ (nyag mo, “woman”) (Hill, 2019).

Pronunciation 2 is an exoactive derivation of pronunciation 1 (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): nǚ (nü³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄩˇ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): nyü³

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): нү (nü, II)

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): neoi⁵ / neoi^5-2 / neoi^5-1

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): nui²

• Gan (Wiktionary): nyy³ / nyyn³
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): ńg

  (Hailu, HRS): ng^ˊ

  (Meixian, Guangdong): n³

• Jin (Wiktionary): ny²
• Northern Min (KCR): nṳ̌
• Eastern Min (BUC): nṳ̄

• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): lú / lí / lír

  (Teochew, Peng'im): neng² / ni²

• Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ⁶gniu
• Xiang

  (Changsha, Wiktionary): nyy³

  (Hengyang, Wiktionary): ny³

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: nǚ
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄩˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: nyǔ
    • Wade–Giles: nü³
    • Yale: nyǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: neu
    • Palladius: нюй (njuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ny²¹⁴/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: nyü³
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: ny
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nʲy⁵³/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: нү (nü, II)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ny⁵¹/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: neoi⁵ / neoi^5-2 / neoi^5-1
    • Yale: néuih / néui / nēui
    • Cantonese Pinyin: noey⁵ / noey^5-2 / noey^5-1
    • Guangdong Romanization: nêu⁵ / nêu^5-2 / nêu^5-1
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nɵy̯¹³/, /nɵy̯¹³⁻³⁵/, /nɵy̯¹³⁻⁵⁵/

Note:

• neoi5-2 - “daughter; girlfriend; girl”;
• neoi5-1 - “queen”.

• (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  • Wiktionary: nui²
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ⁿdui⁵⁵/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: nyy³ / nyyn³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /n̠ʲy²¹³/, /n̠ʲyn²¹³/

Note:

• nyy3 - usual pronunciation, including “daughter”;
• nyyn3 - “daughter”.

• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ńg
    • Hakka Romanization System: ng^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ng³
    • Sinological IPA: /ŋ̍³¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: ng^ˊ
    • Sinological IPA: /ŋ²⁴/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: n³
    • Sinological IPA: /n̩³¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: ny²
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /ny⁵³/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: nṳ̌
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ny²¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: nṳ̄
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nˡy³³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Changtai, Taipei, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Magong)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lú
    • Tâi-lô: lú
    • Phofsit Daibuun: luo
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /lu⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Changtai, Taipei, Tainan): /lu⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lu⁴¹/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Changtai, Zhangpu, Jinjiang, Yilan, Hsinchu, Taichung)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lí
    • Tâi-lô: lí
    • Phofsit Daibuun: lie
    • IPA (Jinjiang): /li⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Changtai, Zhangpu, Yilan): /li⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Nan'an, Hui'an, Yongchun, Lukang, Sanxia, Kinmen, Hsinchu, Klang)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lír
    • Tâi-lô: lír
    • IPA (Yongchun, Kinmen, Klang): /lɯ⁵³/
    • IPA (Lukang): /lɨ⁵⁵/
    • IPA (Hui'an): /lɯ⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou, Nan'an): /lɯ⁵⁵⁴/

Note:

• Xiamen:
  • lú - more common.
• Zhangzhou:
  • lí - more common.
• Quanzhou:
  • lír - more common;
  • lú - colloquial variant.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: neng² / ni²
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: nṳ́ng / ní
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nɯŋ⁵²/, /ni⁵²/

Note:

• neng2 - vernacular;
• ni2 - colloquial.

• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai, Suzhou)
    • Wugniu: ⁶gniu
    • MiniDict: nyu^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³nyy
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /n̠ʲy²³/
    • Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /n̠ʲy²³¹/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: nyy³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /n̠ʲy⁴¹/
  • (Hengyang)
    • Wiktionary: ny³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ny³³/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 女
Mandarin	Beijing	/ny²¹⁴/
	Harbin	/ny²¹³/
	Tianjin	/nuei¹³/ /ny¹³/
	Jinan	/ȵy⁵⁵/
	Qingdao	/ny⁵⁵/
	Zhengzhou	/ny⁵³/
	Xi'an	/ny⁵³/
	Xining	/mji⁵³/
	Yinchuan	/ny⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/ȵy⁴⁴²/
	Ürümqi	/ȵy⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/y⁴²/
	Chengdu	/ȵy⁵³/
	Guiyang	/ni⁴²/
	Kunming	/ni⁵³/
	Nanjing	/ly²¹²/
	Hefei	/zz̩ʷ²⁴/
Jin	Taiyuan	/ny⁵³/
	Pingyao	/nzz̩ʷ⁵³/ ～子 /ȵy⁵³/ ～貓
	Hohhot	/ny⁵³/
Wu	Shanghai	/ȵy²³/
	Suzhou	/ȵy³¹/
	Hangzhou	/nz̩ʷ⁵³/
	Wenzhou	/ȵy³⁵/
Hui	Shexian	/ny³⁵/
	Tunxi	/ȵy²⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/ȵy⁴¹/
	Xiangtan	/ȵy⁴²/
Gan	Nanchang	/ȵy²¹³/
Hakka	Meixian	/n̩³¹/
	Taoyuan	/ŋ̍³¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/nøy²³/
	Nanning	/ny²⁴/
	Hong Kong	/nøy¹³/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/lu⁵³/ /li⁵³/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/ny³²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/ny²¹/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/nɯŋ⁵³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/nu²¹³/

---

• Middle Chinese: nrjoX

Rime
Character	女
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	娘 (12)
Final (韻)	魚 (22)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	尼吕切
Baxter	nrjoX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɳɨʌX/
Pan Wuyun	/ɳiɔX/
Shao Rongfen	/niɔX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɳɨə̆X/
Li Rong	/niɔX/
Wang Li	/nĭoX/
Bernard Karlgren	/ni̯woX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	nǚ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	neoi5

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*nraʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*naʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	女
Reading #	1/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	nǚ
Middle Chinese	‹ nrjoX ›
Old Chinese	/*nraʔ/
English	female
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	女
Reading #	1/2
No.	9616
Phonetic component	女
Rime group	魚
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime
Old Chinese	/*naʔ/

Definitions

女

1. woman; (only of humans in Standard Chinese) female

   女人  ―  nǚrén  ―  woman

   女的  ―  nǚde  ―  woman; female

   一個女演員／一个女演员  ―  yī ge nǚ yǎnyuán  ―  an actress

   一個女士兵／一个女士兵  ―  yī ge nǚ shìbīng  ―  a female soldier

   請問女衛生間在哪兒？ [MSC, trad.]
   请问女卫生间在哪儿？ [MSC, simp.]

   Qǐngwèn nǚ wèishēngjiān zài nǎr? [Pinyin]

   Excuse me, where is the ladies' lavatory?; Excuse me, where is the women's bathroom?

   Coordinate term: 男 (nán)

   See also: 母, 雌

2. daughter (Classifier: 個／个 c; 粒 c)

   次女  ―  cì'nǚ  ―  second daughter

   佢係我個女。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   佢系我个女。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   keoi⁵ hai⁶ ngo⁵ go³ neoi^5-2 [Jyutping]

   She's my daughter.

3. (Cantonese) girl; young female (Classifier: 條／条 c; 班 c)

   靚女／靓女 [Cantonese]  ―  leng³ neoi^5-2 [Jyutping]  ―  pretty girl

4. (Cantonese, Teochew, slang) girlfriend (Classifier: 條／条 c; 粒 mn-t)
   • (Can we date this quote?), “脚车破尼”, performed by 郑小锴:

     想起昨年我許粒妮　騙我感情詐我個錢 [Teochew, trad.]
     想起昨年我许粒妮　骗我感情诈我个钱 [Teochew, simp.]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

5. (Cantonese, card games) queen (Classifier: 張／张 c; 隻／只 c)
6. (astronomy) the Girl (a Chinese constellation near Aquarius, 10th of the Twenty-Eight Mansions and part of the Black Turtle)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 女兒 (“daughter”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		女
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		女兒
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	女兒, 女花兒, 閨女, 姑娘, 丫頭
	Taiwan	女兒
	Langfang	閨妮
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	女兒
	Harbin	女兒, 姑娘, 閨女, 閨娘, 丫頭
	Shenyang	姑娘, 丫頭
	Malaysia	女兒
	Singapore	女兒
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	女兒, 閨女, 小棉襖 humorous
	Tangshan	閨女
	Cangzhou	閨女
	Baoding	閨女
	Shijiazhuang	閨女
	Weifang (Weicheng)	閨女
	Weifang (Fangzi)	閨女, 嫚兒
	Changle	閨女兒
	Shouguang	閨女
	Wulian	閨女, 丫頭, 嫚兒, 識字班
	Jinan	閨女
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	閨娘, 閨娘子, 女兒
	Qingdao	閨女
	Weifang (Hanting)	閨女
	Changyi	閨女, 嫚姑子
	Gaomi	閨女, 嫚兒, 嫚兒姑子
	Zhucheng	閨女
	Anqiu	閨女
	Linqu	閨女
	Qingzhou	閨女
Central Plains Mandarin	Daming	妮兒
	Wanrong	女子
	Zhengzhou	閨女, 妞
	Xi'an	女, 女兒
	Xining	姑娘, 丫頭
	Xuzhou	女兒, 閨女
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	女兒, 姑娘兒
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	女兒, 丫頭
	Bayanhot	丫頭
	Lanzhou	女兒
	Ürümqi	女兒, 丫頭
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	女兒, 女, 姑娘兒
	Wuhan	姑娘, 丫頭
	Guiyang	姑娘, 女娃娃, 女娃兒, 幺女, 幺姑娘, 小丫頭, 小姑娘
	Kunming	囡兒, 姑娘
	Guilin	女兒
	Liuzhou	女, 丫頭
	Sanjiang (Danzhou)	妹崽
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	女兒, 姑娘
	Yangzhou	女兒, 姑娘
	Nantong	丫頭
	Hefei	女兒, 丫頭
	Huanggang	女兒
Cantonese	Guangzhou	女
	Hong Kong	女, 女女, 阿女
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	女, 妹仔
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	女
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	阿女
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	阿女
	Macau	女
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	女
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	女
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	女
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	女
	Foshan	女
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	女
	Foshan (Shunde)	女
	Foshan (Sanshui)	女
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	女
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	女
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	女
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	女
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	女
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	女
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	女
	Taishan	女
	Kaiping (Chikan)	女
	Enping (Niujiang)	女
	Heshan (Yayao)	女
	Dongguan	女
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	女
	Shenzhen (Dapeng)	阿女
	Qingyuan	女
	Fogang	女
	Yingde (Hanguang)	女
	Yangshan	妹仔
	Lianshan (Butian)	女
	Lianzhou (Qingshui Sihui)	女
	Shaoguan	女
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	女
	Renhua	女
	Lechang	女
	Zhaoqing (Gaoyao)	女
	Sihui	女
	Guangning	女
	Deqing	女
	Huaiji	女
	Fengkai (Nanfeng)	女
	Yunfu	女
	Xinxing	女
	Luoding	女
	Yunan (Pingtai)	女
	Yangjiang	桓仔, 妹仔
	Xinyi	女
	Maoming (Xinpo)	女
	Lianjiang	女
	Wuchuan (Wuyang)	康女兒, 夫娘儂
	Nanning	女
	Wuzhou	女
	Yulin	女
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	女
	Guiping	女
	Mengshan (Xihe)	女
	Guigang (Nanjiang)	女
	Beiliu (Tangliao)	女
	Baise	女
	Bobai	女
Lingshan	女
Pubei	女
Qinzhou	女
Beihai	女
Beihai (Nankang)	女
Beihai (Yingpan)	女
Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	女, 妹仔
Ningming	女
Hengzhou	女
Hezhou (Pumen, Babu)	女仔
Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	女
Danzhou	女
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	女
Singapore (Guangfu)	女
Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	女
Móng Cái	女
Gan	Nanchang	女, 姑娘
	Lichuan	女
	Pingxiang	女, 妹仔
Hakka	Meixian	妹仔
	Xingning	妹哩
	Dabu (Xihe)	妹兒, 女
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	阿女
	Huiyang	妹子
	Huidong (Daling)	妹仔
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	妹主
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	妹主
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	妹子
	Wuhua (Shuizhai)	妹哩
	Wuhua (Huacheng)	妹哩
	Wuhua (Changbu)	妹哩
	Wuhua (Mianyang)	妹哩
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	阿女
	Wengyuan	妹子
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	妹子
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	妹仔
	Liannan	妹子
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	女
	Jiexi	妹
	Luhe	妹仔, 阿女
	Zhao'an (Xiuzhuan)	阿女
	Changting	妹子, 女
	Wuping	妹子
	Wuping (Yanqian)	女哩
	Wuping (Pingyu)	妹子
	Liancheng	妹子娘
	Ninghua	女
	Yudu	女, 女子
	Ningdu	女
	Ruijin	女, 女子
	Shicheng	女
	Shangyou (Shexi)	女
	Tonggu (Sandu)	妹子
	Ganzhou (Panlong)	女
	Dayu	女哩
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	妹仔, 妹子
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	妹仔, 妹子
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	妹仔, 妹子
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	妹, 妹子, 細妹
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	妹仔, 妹子
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	阿女
	Hong Kong	妹子
	Yangxi (Tangkou)	妹子
	Yangchun (Sanjia)	女
	Xinyi (Sihe)	女
	Xinyi (Qianpai)	女
	Gaozhou (Xindong)	女
	Maoming (Shalang, Dianbai)	女
	Huazhou (Xin'an)	女子
	Lianjiang (Shijiao)	妹𧊅, 女子
	Lianjiang (Qingping)	女
	Mengshan (Xihe)	妹子
	Luchuan	女
	Luchuan (Daqiao)	女
	Bobai (Shahe)	女
	Beiliu (Tang'an)	妹
	Mashan (Pianlian)	妹子
	Sabah (Bao'an)	妹子
	Sabah (Longchuan)	妹哩
	Kuala Lumpur (Dabu)	妹
	Senai (Huiyang)	妹子
	Singkawang	妹子
Huizhou	Jixi	女
	Shexian	女
	Huangshan (Tunxi)	囡, 囡囝
	Xiuning	囡兒
	Yixian	囡兒
	Qimen	女, 女兒
	Wuyuan	女, 女兒, 囡
	Fuliang	女崽
	Dexing	𡚴姑
	Jingde	女伲
	Shitai (Xianyu)	女兒
Jin	Taiyuan	閨女, 姑娘, 妮子
	Pingyao	閨女, 女子
	Xinzhou	閨女
	Hohhot	閨女, 女子
	Zhangjiakou	閨女
	Handan	閨女
Northern Min	Jian'ou	阿娘囝
	Jian'ou (Dikou)	娘囝
	Songxi	阿娘囝
	Zhenghe	阿娘囝
	Zhenghe (Zhenqian)	娘囝
	Jianyang	阿娘囝
	Wuyishan	阿娘囝
	Pucheng (Shibei)	阿娘囝
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	諸娘囝
	Fuzhou (Changle)	諸娘囝
	Fuqing	諸娘囝
	Yongtai	諸娘囝
	Gutian	諸娘囝
	Pingnan	諸娘囝
	Fu'an	諸娘囝
	Ningde	諸母囝
	Shouning	諸母囝
	Zhouning	諸娘囝
	Fuding	諸母囝
	Matsu	諸娘囝
Southern Min	Xiamen	查某囝, 查某仔
	Quanzhou	查某仔
	Yongchun	查某囝
	Zhangzhou	查某仔, 灶雞
	Zhangzhou (Changtai)	查某仔
	Pinghe	查某囝, 查某仔 Xiazhai, Jiufeng, Luxi
	Zhangpu	查某仔
	Dongshan	查囝
	Taipei	查某囝
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	查某囝
	Kaohsiung	查某囡仔, 查某囝
	Yilan	查某囝
	Changhua (Lukang)	查某囝
	Taichung	查某囝
	Taichung (Wuqi)	查某囝
	Tainan	查某囝
	Taitung	查某囝
	Hsinchu	查某囝
	Kinmen	查某囡仔
	Penghu (Magong)	查某囝
	Penang (Hokkien)	查某囝, 查某仔
	Singapore (Hokkien)	查某囝
	Manila (Hokkien)	查某仔, 查某囝
	Longyan	查某仔
	Zhangping	查某仔
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	查某仔
	Datian	阿使
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	女
	Chaozhou	走囝
	Shantou	走囝
	Shantou (Chenghai)	走囝
	Jieyang	走囝
	Haifeng	查某囝
	Bangkok (Teochew)	走囝
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	走囝
	Singapore (Teochew)	查某囝, 走囝
	Batam (Teochew)	查某囝, 走囝
	Pontianak (Teochew)	查某囝
	Leizhou	查某囝
	Wenchang	查某囝
	Haikou	查某囝, 查囝
	Qionghai	查某囝
Puxian Min	Putian	嬸娘囝
	Xianyou	子囝
Central Min	Yong'an	娘囝
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	中母囝
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	女
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dahe)	女
Shehua	Fu'an	女
	Fuding	女
	Luoyuan	女
	Sanming	女
	Shunchang	女
	Hua'an	妹仔
	Guixi (Zhangping)	女
	Cangnan	女
	Jingning (Hexi)	女
	Lishui	女
	Longyou	女
	Chaozhou	女
	Fengshun	女
Wu	Shanghai	囡兒, 囡 dated, 囡兒大細 dated, 小鬼丫頭 endearing
	Shanghai (Chongming)	丫頭
	Suzhou	囡兒
	Wuxi	囡兒
	Danyang	女兒
	Hangzhou	女兒
	Ningbo	囡
	Wenzhou	奶兒
	Jinhua	囡兒, 囡, 女兒
Xiang	Changsha	女, 妹子
	Xiangtan	女, 妹唧
	Loudi	女
	Shuangfeng	女
	Quanzhou	女崽
Xiangnan Tuhua	Jiangyong	女

Dialectal synonyms of 女朋友 (“girlfriend”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		女朋友, 女友
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	女朋友
	Taiwan	女朋友, 女友, 馬子 humorous or derogatory
	Singapore	女朋友
Central Plains Mandarin	Xuzhou	女朋友
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	女娃子, 女娃娃, 女娃兒, 盤子
	Guilin	𧊅
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	女朋友, 攀西
Cantonese	Guangzhou	女朋友, 女
	Hong Kong	女朋友, 女友, 女, 女女, 菜 derogatory
	Taishan	女朋友, 女
	Dongguan	皮油
	Singapore (Guangfu)	女朋友
Hakka	Meixian	女朋友
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	細妹朋友, 女朋友
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	細妹朋友, 女朋友
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	細妹朋友, 女朋友
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	細妹朋友, 女朋友
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	妹子朋友, 女朋友
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	女朋友
Southern Min	Xiamen	女朋友
	Shishi	女朋友
	Taipei	姼仔 GT
	Penang (Hokkien)	查某朋友
	Singapore (Hokkien)	查某朋友
	Manila (Hokkien)	女朋友, 查某朋友
	Chaozhou	女朋友
	Haifeng	女朋友
	Singapore (Teochew)	查某朋友
	Leizhou	女朋友
	Singapore (Hainanese)	女朋友
Wu	Shanghai	女朋友
	Suzhou	女朋友
	Hangzhou	女朋友
	Ningbo	女朋友
	Zhoushan	女朋友
Xiang	Changsha	妹子
Note	GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)

Dialectal synonyms of 圈兒 (“queen (playing cards)”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	疙瘩, 疙瘩包
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	皮蛋, 十二
	Zhengzhou	十二, 圈
	Xi'an	圈子
	Xuzhou	皮蛋, 皮球, 球蛋
Lanyin Mandarin	Ürümqi	皮蛋, 圈子
Southwestern Mandarin	Wuhan	皮蛋, 蛋, 環, 婆婆
	Guiyang	蛋, 蛋蛋
	Liuzhou	悶, 丘
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	皮蛋
	Yangzhou	皮蛋
Cantonese	Guangzhou	女
	Hong Kong	女
	Taishan	女
	Nanning	敏
	Nanning (Tanka)	文
	Wuzhou	敏
	Yulin	敏
Gan	Nanchang	皮蛋
	Pengze	箍
	Lichuan	皮蛋
	Pingxiang	蛋, 皮蛋架架
Hakka	Yudu	圈子
Huizhou	Jixi	皮蛋
Jin	Taiyuan	圈兒
Southern Min	Xiamen	Q, 卵
	Shantou	箍, 𡚸, 妹
	Puning	箍
Wu	Shanghai	皮蛋
	Shanghai (Chongming)	皮蛋
	Suzhou	蛋, 皮蛋
	Ningbo	皮蛋, 蛋

Compounds

• 一男半女 (yīnánbànnǚ)
• 丁女
• 丈夫女
• 下女 (xiànǚ)
• 三男兩女／三男两女
• 三男四女
• 上門女婿／上门女婿
• 么女 (yāonǚ)
• 仕女 (shìnǚ)
• 仙女 (xiānnǚ)
• 仙女山 (Xiānnǚshān)
• 佚女
• 侍女 (shìnǚ)
• 使女 (shǐnǚ)
• 信女 (xìnnǚ)
• 倩女
• 倡女
• 修女 (xiūnǚ)
• 假女
• 兒女／儿女 (érnǚ)
• 內女／内女
• 兩娘女／两娘女
• 列女
• 剩女 (shèngnǚ)
• 北邙鄉女／北邙乡女
• 同人女
• 吧女 (bānǚ)
• 吧托女
• 商女 (shāngnǚ)
• 士女 (shìnǚ)
• 大男大女
• 天台女
• 天女 (tiānnǚ)
• 女丈夫
• 女丑
• 女中 (nǚzhōng)
• 女主 (nǚzhǔ)
• 女乘務員／女乘务员
• 女事 (nǚshì)
• 女人
• 女伎
• 女伶
• 女伴 (nǚbàn)
• 女低音 (nǚdīyīn)
• 女侍 (nǚshì)
• 女修士
• 女修道
• 女修道張／女修道张
• 女修道院
• 女傑／女杰
• 女傭／女佣 (nǚyōng)
• 女僕／女仆 (nǚpú)
• 女僧
• 女儐相／女傧相 (nǚbīnxiàng)
• 女優／女优 (nǚyōu)
• 女兄
• 女先
• 女光棍
• 女兒／女儿 (nǚ'ér)
• 女公
• 女兵
• 女冠
• 女功
• 女博士
• 女友 (nǚyǒu)
• 女叔
• 女口
• 女史 (nǚshǐ)
• 女同胞
• 女君
• 女四書／女四书
• 女國／女国
• 女垣
• 女士 (nǚshì)
• 女大不中留 (nǚ dà bù zhōng liú)
• 女大十八變／女大十八变
• 女大難留／女大难留
• 女大須嫁／女大须嫁
• 女夷
• 女奴 (nǚnú)
• 女妐
• 女妹
• 女娃 (nǚwá)
• 女姪／女侄
• 女娘 (nǚniáng)
• 女婢 (nǚbì)
• 女婿
• 女媒
• 女媧／女娲 (Nǚwā)
• 女嫁男婚
• 女嬰／女婴 (nǚyīng)
• 女子 (nǚzǐ)
• 女孩 (nǚhái)
• 女孫／女孙
• 女學／女学
• 女宗
• 女官 (nǚguān)
• 女室
• 女客
• 女家 (nǚjiā)
• 女宮／女宫
• 女宿 (Nǚxiù)
• 女將／女将 (nǚjiàng)
• 女工 (nǚgōng)
• 女巫 (nǚwū)
• 女市
• 女師／女师 (nǚshī)
• 女床
• 女店員／女店员
• 女廁／女厕 (nǚcè)
• 女廚／女厨
• 女弟 (nǚdì)
• 女強人／女强人 (nǚqiángrén)
• 女御 (nǚyù)
• 女德
• 女性 (nǚxìng)
• 女戎
• 女戶／女户
• 女房東／女房东
• 女扮男裝／女扮男装
• 女扮男身
• 女招的
• 女排 (nǚpái)
• 女方 (nǚfāng)
• 女星
• 女曰雞鳴／女曰鸡鸣
• 女書／女书 (Nǚshū)
• 女朋友
• 女校 (nǚxiào)
• 女樂／女乐
• 女權／女权 (nǚquán)
• 女歧
• 女武神
• 女氣／女气 (nǚqi)
• 女流 (nǚliú)
• 女牆／女墙 (nǚqiáng)
• 女牢
• 女犯
• 女王 (nǚwáng)
• 女班頭／女班头
• 女生 (nǚshēng)
• 女用內衣／女用内衣
• 女男
• 女皇 (nǚhuáng)
• 女監／女监 (nǚjiān)
• 女直 (Nǚzhí)
• 女真 (Nǚzhēn)
• 女眷
• 女神 (nǚshén)
• 女禍／女祸 (nǚhuò)
• 女秀才
• 女科
• 女童 (nǚtóng)
• 女管家 (nǚguǎnjiā)
• 女紀／女纪
• 女紅／女红 (nǚgōng)
• 女給／女给
• 女織男耕／女织男耕
• 女繼承人／女继承人
• 女聲／女声 (nǚshēng)
• 女聯會／女联会
• 女舍監／女舍监
• 女色 (nǚsè)
• 女花
• 女落子
• 女蘿／女萝 (nǚluó)
• 女裝／女装 (nǚzhuāng)
• 女襯衫／女衬衫 (nǚchènshān)
• 女角
• 女誡／女诫
• 女謁／女谒
• 女警 (nǚjǐng)
• 女護士／女护士
• 女貌郎才
• 女貞酒／女贞酒
• 女賓／女宾 (nǚbīn)
• 女起解
• 女身
• 女車／女车
• 女轎／女轿
• 女郎 (nǚláng)
• 女酒
• 女錢／女钱
• 女長須嫁／女长须嫁
• 女閭／女闾
• 女陰／女阴 (nǚyīn)
• 女陪堂
• 女隸／女隶
• 女青年會／女青年会
• 女鞋
• 女高 (nǚgāo)
• 女魃
• 奼女／姹女
• 妓女 (jìnǚ)
• 妖女 (yāonǚ)
• 妻女 (qīnǚ)
• 姪女／侄女 (zhínǚ)
• 婦女／妇女 (fùnǚ)
• 娼女 (chāngnǚ)
• 婢女 (bìnǚ)
• 媛女
• 婺女
• 嫁女 (jiànǚ)
• 嬌女／娇女 (jiāonǚ)
• 嬖女
• 子女 (zǐnǚ)
• 孝女 (xiàonǚ)
• 孤女 (gūnǚ)
• 季女
• 孟姜女 (Mèngjiāngnǚ)
• 孫女／孙女 (sūnnǚ)
• 宅女 (zháinǚ)
• 宗女
• 宦女
• 室女 (shìnǚ)
• 宮女／宫女 (gōngnǚ)
• 寒女
• 實女／实女
• 寡女
• 寸男尺女
• 小女 (xiǎonǚ)
• 少女 (shàonǚ)
• 工女
• 帝女
• 幼女 (yòunǚ)
• 彭女山
• 從女／从女
• 怨女 (yuànnǚ)
• 息女 (xīnǚ)
• 愛女／爱女 (àinǚ)
• 才女 (cáinǚ)
• 扣女
• 拖兒帶女／拖儿带女
• 拖男帶女／拖男带女
• 拖男挈女
• 拖男挾女／拖男挟女
• 攜男抱女／携男抱女
• 攜男挈女／携男挈女
• 暖女
• 有女同車／有女同车
• 有女懷春／有女怀春
• 榜女
• 檀郎謝女／檀郎谢女
• 次女 (cìnǚ)
• 欺男霸女 (qīnánbànǚ)
• 歌女 (gēnǚ)
• 歸女／归女
• 母女 (mǔnǚ)
• 河女之章
• 海女
• 浣女
• 淑女 (shūnǚ)
• 游女
• 港女 (gǎngnǚ)
• 烈女 (liènǚ)
• 煙花女／烟花女 (yānhuānǚ)
• 熟女 (shúnǚ)
• 燕女
• 父女 (fùnǚ)
• 牛女
• 狐女
• 獨生女／独生女 (dúshēngnǚ)
• 玄女 (Xuánnǚ)
• 王女 (wángnǚ)
• 玉女 (yùnǚ)
• 生兒育女／生儿育女 (shēng'éryùnǚ)
• 生男育女
• 甥女 (shēngnǚ)
• 男唱女隨／男唱女随
• 男女 (nánnǚ)
• 男婚女嫁
• 男婚女聘
• 男媒女妁
• 男尊女卑 (nánzūnnǚbēi)
• 男左女右 (nánzuǒnǚyòu)
• 男歡女愛／男欢女爱 (nánhuānnǚ'ài)
• 男男女女 (nánnánnǚnǚ)
• 男盜女娼／男盗女娼 (nándàonǚchāng)
• 男耕女織／男耕女织 (nángēngnǚzhī)
• 白毛女
• 相女配夫
• 石女 (shínǚ)
• 石女山 (Shínǚshān)
• 神女 (shénnǚ)
• 秀女
• 秦川女
• 稚女
• 童女 (tóngnǚ)
• 節女／节女
• 紅女／红女
• 紅男綠女／红男绿女
• 素女 (Sùnǚ)
• 納女／纳女
• 綵女／彩女 (cǎinǚ)
• 綠女紅男／绿女红男
• 縊女／缢女 (yìnǚ)
• 織女／织女 (zhīnǚ)
• 繼女／继女 (jìnǚ)
• 羅剎女／罗刹女
• 美女 (měinǚ)
• 美容女
• 義女／义女 (yìnǚ)
• 老女
• 老女歸宗／老女归宗
• 聖女貞德／圣女贞德 (Shèngnǚ Zhēndé)
• 舞女 (wǔnǚ)
• 茶花女
• 薄命女
• 處女／处女
• 蜑女
• 蠶女／蚕女
• 衒女
• 裸女 (luǒnǚ)
• 貞女／贞女 (zhēnnǚ)
• 貧女分光／贫女分光
• 貴女／贵女
• 賈女香／贾女香
• 賣兒鬻女／卖儿鬻女 (mài'éryùnǚ)
• 越女
• 農家女／农家女
• 逆女
• 郎才女姿
• 郎才女貌
• 鄰女窺牆／邻女窥墙
• 鄭衛之女／郑卫之女
• 酒家女
• 酒托女
• 醜女效顰／丑女效颦
• 采女 (cǎinǚ)
• 重男輕女／重男轻女 (zhòngnánqīngnǚ)
• 鑑湖女俠／鉴湖女侠
• 閨女／闺女
• 陪唱女 (péichàngnǚ)
• 青女
• 靚女／靓女
• 靜女／静女
• 養女／养女 (yǎngnǚ)
• 餪女／𫗬女
• 鬻兒賣女／鬻儿卖女
• 魔女 (mónǚ)
• 魯女憂葵／鲁女忧葵
• 黃花女／黄花女 (huánghuānǚ)
• 點繡女／点绣女
• 齊女／齐女
• 龍女／龙女

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (女):

• → Japanese: 女(じょ) (jo)
• → Korean: 여(女) (yeo)
• → Vietnamese: nữ (女)

Pronunciation 2

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): nǜ (nü⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄩˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): neoi⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: nǜ
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄩˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: nyù
    • Wade–Giles: nü⁴
    • Yale: nyù
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: niuh
    • Palladius: нюй (njuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ny⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: neoi⁶
    • Yale: neuih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: noey⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: nêu⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nɵy̯²²/

---

• Middle Chinese: nrjoH

Rime
Character	女
Reading #	2/2
Initial (聲)	娘 (12)
Final (韻)	魚 (22)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	尼據切
Baxter	nrjoH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɳɨʌH/
Pan Wuyun	/ɳiɔH/
Shao Rongfen	/niɔH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɳɨə̆H/
Li Rong	/niɔH/
Wang Li	/nĭoH/
Bernard Karlgren	/ni̯woH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	nǜ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	neoi6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*nraʔ-s/

  (Zhengzhang): /*nas/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	女
Reading #	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	nǜ
Middle Chinese	‹ nrjoH ›
Old Chinese	/*nraʔ-s/
English	give as a wife
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	女
Reading #	2/2
No.	9618
Phonetic component	女
Rime group	魚
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	女
Old Chinese	/*nas/

Definitions

女

1. ^† to give one's daughter in marriage; to give as wife

   • 宋雍氏女於鄭莊公，曰雍姞。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     宋雍氏女于郑庄公，曰雍姞。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE

     Sòng Yōngshì nǜ yú Zhèng Zhuānggōng, yuē Yōng Jí. [Pinyin]

     The officer Yong of Song had married off a daughter, called Yong Ji [雍姞; Yong was the father's clan name (氏); Ji the surname (姓)] to duke Zhuang of Zheng.

   • 殷辛伐有蘇，有蘇氏以妲己女焉。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     殷辛伐有苏，有苏氏以妲己女焉。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Guoyu, circa 4^th century BCE

     Yīnxīn fá yǒusū, yǒusū shì yǐ dájǐ nǜ yān. [Pinyin]

     Xin of Yin attacked Yousu; Lord Yousu married off his daughter Da Ji [to him].

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of 女 – see 汝 (“you”). (This character is a variant form of 汝).

References

• “女”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[6], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

女

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

1. woman
2. daughter

Readings

• Go-on: にょ (nyo, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: じょ (jo, Jōyō)^{←ぢよ (dyo, historical)}
• Kan’yō-on: にょう (nyō, Jōyō ^†)
• Kun: おんな (onna, 女, Jōyō)^{←をんな (wonna, 女, historical)←をみな (womina, 女, ancient)}、め (me, 女, Jōyō)、おうな (ōna, 女)^{←をうな (wouna, 女, historical)}、おな (ona, 女)^{←をな (wona, 女, historical)}、おなあ (onā, 女)^{←をなあ (wonaa, 女, historical)}、むすめ (musume, 女)、なんじ (nanji, 女)^{←なんぢ (nandi, 女, historical)}
• Nanori: おな (ona)、た (ta)、つき (tsuki)、な (na)

Compounds

Compounds

• 女(じょ)王(おう) (joō), 女(じょう)王(おう) (jōō), 女(にょ)王(おう) (nyoō, “queen”)
• 女(じょ)医(い) (joi, “female doctor”)
• 少(しょう)女(じょ) (shōjo, “young girl, style of anime for young women”)
• 女(じょ)系(けい) (jokei, “woman-succession; matrilineal”)
• 女(じょ)傑(けつ) (joketsu, “brave woman”)
• 女(じょ)権(けん) (joken, “women's rights”)
• 女(じょ)史(し) (joshi, “Ms.”)
• 女(じょ)中(ちゅう) (jochū, “maid”)
• 処(しょ)女(じょ) (shojo, “virgin, maiden”)
• 女(じょ)子(し) (joshi, “girl”)
• 女(じょ)児(じ) (joji, “female infant”)
• 女(じょ)神(しん) (joshin)
• 女(じょ)性(せい) (josei, “woman”)
• 女(じょ)声(せい) (josei, “female voice”)
• 女(じょ)婿(せい), 女(じょ)壻(せい) (josei, “son-in-law”)
• 女(じょ)帝(てい) (jotei, “empress”)
• 女(じょ)優(ゆう) (joyū, “actress”)
• 女(じょ)流(りゅう) (joryū, “female”)
• 女(じょ)郎(ろう) (jorō, “prostitute”)
• 女(にょ)官(かん) (nyokan, “court lady”)
• 女(にょ)性(しょう) (nyoshō)
• 女(にょ)将(しょう) (nyoshō, “mistress, hostess”)
• 女(にょ)人(にん) (nyonin, “woman”)
• 女(にょう)房(ぼう) (nyōbō, “wife”)
• 悪(あく)女(じょ) (akujo)
• 王(おう)女(じょ) (ōjo), 王(おう)女(にょ) (ōnyo, “princess”)
• 皇(おう)女(じょ) (ōjo)
• 宮(きゅう)女(じょ) (kyūjo)
• 孝(こう)女(じょ) (kōjo, “filial daughter”)
• 工(こう)女(じょ) (kōjo, “female worker”)
• 皇(こう)女(じょ) (kōjo, “imperial princess”)
• 才(さい)女(じょ) (saijo)
• 子(し)女(じょ) (shijo)
• 二(じ)女(じょ) (jijo)
• 次(じ)女(じょ) (jijo)
• 侍(じ)女(じょ) (jijo)
• 淑(しゅく)女(じょ) (shukujo)
• 信(しん)女(にょ) (shinnyo)
• 仙(せん)女(にょ) (sennyo), 仙(せん)女(じょ) (senjo, “fairy, nymph, elf”)
• 善(ぜん)女(にょ) (zennyo)
  • 善(ぜん)男(なん)善(ぜん)女(にょ) (zennan zennyo)
• 息(そく)女(じょ) (sokujo, “daughter”, honorific)
• 男(だん)女(じょ) (danjo)
• 男(だん)尊(そん)女(じょ)卑(ひ) (dansonjohi)
• 痴(ち)女(じょ) (chijo, “slut, female libertine”)
• 長(ちょう)女(じょ) (chōjo, “eldest daughter”)
• 天(てん)女(にょ) (tennyo)
• 東(トン)女(じょ) (tonjo)
• 男(なん)女(にょ) (nannyo)
  • 老(ろう)若(にゃく)男(なん)女(にょ) (rōnyaku nannyo)
• 美(び)女(じょ) (bijo, “beauty, belle”)
• 本(ぽん)女(じょ) (ponjo)
• 魔(ま)女(じょ) (majo, “witch”)
• 遊(ゆう)女(じょ) (yūjo)
• 幼(よう)女(じょ) (yōjo)
• 養(よう)女(じょ) (yōjo)
• 老(ろう)女(じょ) (rōjo)
• 女将(おかみ) (okami)
• 女形(おやま) (oyama)
• 貴女(あなた) (anata)
• 海女(あま) (ama)
• 瞽女(ごぜ) (goze)
• 女衒(ぜげん) (zegen)
• 侍女(まかたち), 従女(まかたち) (makatachi)
• 巫女(みこ) (miko)
• 皇女(みこ) (miko)
• 湯女(ゆな) (yuna)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
女
おんな Grade: 1
kun'yomi

⟨womi₁na⟩ → */womʲina/ → /womʉna/ → /wonːa/ → /onːa/

Shift from Old Japanese womina → omina. See the 女 (omina) entry for further details.

Now one of the standard Japanese words for "a woman".

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) おんな [òńnáꜜ] (Odaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [õ̞nːa̠]

• Audio:

  (file)

• (Kyoto) お​んな [óꜜǹnà] (Kōki)

Noun

女(おんな) • (onna) ^{←をんな (wonna)?}

1. a female person

   Antonym: 男 (otoko)

2. (specifically) a woman, an adult female

   Antonym: 男 (otoko)

3. a wife

   Synonyms: 妻 (tsuma), 女房 (nyōbō)

4. a mistress, concubine

   Synonyms: 愛人 (aijin), 情婦 (jōfu), 妾 (mekake)

5. a maid

   Synonyms: 下女 (gejo), 女中 (jochū)

6. a prostitute

   Synonyms: 淫売婦 (inbaifu), 女郎 (jorō), 売春婦 (baishunfu), 遊女 (yūjo)

7. a woman's appearance or quality
8. a feminine object
9. the object in a pairing which is smaller, gentler, etc. than the other
10. (vulgar) girlfriend

    人(ひと)の女(おんな)に手(て)を出(だ)すな！

    Hito no onna ni te o dasuna!

    Don't you fuckin' dare touch someone else's girl!

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 女(おんな)し (onnashi)
• 女(おんな)親(おや) (onnaoya, “female parent”)
• 女(おんな)形(がた) (onnagata, “male actor in female role of kabuki”)
• 女(おんな)神(がみ) (onnagami)
• 女(おんな)子(ご) (onnago)
• 女(おんな)心(ごころ) (onna-gokoro, “woman's mind”)
• 女(おんな)坂(ざか) (onnazaka)
• 女(おんな)手(で) (onnade, “female worker”)
• 女(おんな)友達(ともだち) (onna tomodachi, “girlfriend, female friend”)
• 男(おとこ)女(おんな) (otoko-onna)
• 彼女(かのじょ) (kanojo, “girlfriend”, literally “she”)
• 下種(げす)女(おんな) (gesu onna)
• 雪(ゆき)女(おんな) (yuki onna, “snowwoman”)

Idioms

• 女(おんな)になる (onna ni naru)
• 女(おんな)を上(あ)げる (onna o ageru)

Proverbs

Proverbs

• 女(おんな)氏(うじ)無(な)くして玉(たま)の輿(こし)に乗(の)る (onna ujinakushite tama no koshi ni noru)
• 女(おんな)賢(さか)しくて牛(うし)売(う)り損(そこ)なう (onna sakashikute ushi urisokonau)
• 女(おんな)三界(さんがい)に家(いえ)なし (onna sangai ni ie nashi)
• 女(おんな)三人(さんにん)寄(よ)れば姦(かしま)しい (onna sannin yoreba kashimashī)
• 女(おんな)の足(あし)駄(だ)にて造(つく)れる笛(ふえ)には秋(あき)の鹿(しか)寄(よ)る (onna no ashida ni te tsukureru fue ni wa aki no shika yoru)
• 女(おんな)の一念(いちねん)岩(いわ)をも通(とお)す (onna no ichinen iwa o mo tōsu)
• 女(おんな)の髪(かみ)の毛(け)には大象(たいぞう)も繫(つな)がる (onna no kami no ke ni wa taizō mo tsunagaru)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
女
おみな Grade: 1
kun'yomi

⟨womi₁na⟩ → */womʲina/ → /omina/

From Old Japanese.

The initial /wo/ expressed "small, youth" and contrasted with /o/ "grown, old" (as in 嫗 (omina, “old woman”)), while the medial /mi/ is cognate with 女 (me, “female, woman”, see below). According to Frellesvig (2010), proto-Japonic /e/ became Old Japanese [je] in final position and [i] elsewhere; analogous with PJ /o/, which became OJ [wo] in final position and [u] elsewhere (though PJ /i/ and /u/ also existed, compare Old Japanese 火's two readings /po/ & /pu/ in Western & Eastern Old Japanese, respectively (Vovin, 2017)).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) おみな [òmíná] (Heiban – [0])
• (Tokyo) おみな [óꜜmìnà] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [o̞mʲina̠]

• (Kyoto) お​みな [óꜜmìnà] (Kōki)

Noun

女(おみな) • (omina) ^{←をみな (womina)?}

1. (archaic) a young woman
2. (archaic) a woman

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 女郎花(オミナエシ) (ominaeshi), 女郎花(おみなめし) (ominameshi)
• 女(おみな)神(がみ) (ominagami)
• 女(おみな)髪長(かみなが) (omina kaminaga)
• 女(おみな)子(ご) (ominago)
• 東(あずま)女(おみな) (azuma-omina)
• 宮(みや)女(おみな) (miya-omina)

Proper noun

女(おみな) • (Omina) ^{←をみな (Womina)?}

1. a female given name

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
女
め Grade: 1
kun'yomi

⟨me₁⟩ → */mʲe/ → /me/

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *mia.

Appears to be distinct from 目 (⟨me₂⟩ → me, “eye”).

Alternative forms

• (wife): 妻
• (female): 雌, 牝

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) め [méꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [me̞]

• (Kyoto) めー [méé] (Kōki – [0])

Noun

女(め) • (me) 

1. a woman

   Antonym: 男 (o)

   女(め)神(がみ)

   megami

   goddess

2. a wife
   • c. 890, Taketori Monogatari (page 3)

     ...女(め)の女(をんな)にあづけてやしなはす。

     ...me no onna ni azukete yashinawasu.

     (please add an English translation of this example)

   Synonym: 妻 (tsuma)

   Antonym: 男 (o)

3. a female

   Antonym: 男, 牡, 雄 (o)

Usage notes

• Used more in compounds than on its own.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 女女(めめ)しい, 女々(めめ)しい (memeshii, “unmanly, effeminate, sissy”)
• 姪(めい) (mei, “niece”)
• 夫婦(めおと) (meoto, “man and wife, married couple”)
• 女(め)親(おや) (meoya, “mother”, archaic)
• 女(め)神(がみ) (megami, “goddess”)
• 女(め)瓦(がわら) (megawara)
• 女木(めぎ) (megi, “female tree; lower or receiving piece of wood in a join”)
• 女(め)君(ぎみ) (megimi): polite term for another person's wife or daughter
• 女子(めこ) (meko, “woman and child; girl”)
• 雌(めす), 牝(めす) (mesu, “female animal”)
• 女(め)滝(だき): in a waterfall with two cataracts, the smaller of the two
• 女(メ)竹(ダケ) (medake, “Pleioblastus simonii”)
• 娶(めと)る (metoru, “get married”)
• 女(め)波(なみ) (menami): the smaller waves
• 婚(めま)く (memaku, “get married”)
• 女(め)の子(こ) (me no ko, “girl; woman”)
• 乳母(めのと) (menoto), 傅(めのと) (menoto, “nanny; wetnurse; foster parent”)
• 郎(いらつ)女(め) (iratsume): (archaic) an ancient term of endearment for referring to a woman or girl
• 浮(う)かれ女(め), 浮(うかれ)女(め) (ukareme, “female entertainer or prostitute”)
• 采(うね)女(め) (uneme)
• 乙(おと)女(め) (otome, “maiden”)
• 姑(しゅうとめ) (shūtome, “mother-in-law”)
• 手弱(たおや)女(め) (taoyame), 手弱(たわや)女(め) (tawayame)
• 端(はした)女(め) (hashitame, “servant girl”)
• 姫(ひめ) (hime, “princess”)
• 日(ひる)孁(め), 日(ひる)霊(め), 日(ひる)女(め) (Hirume)
• 娘(むすめ) (musume, “daughter”)
• 嫁(よめ) (yome, “bride”)

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
女
おうな Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
嬢

⟨womi₁na⟩ → */womʲina/ → /womʉna/ → /woũna/ → /woːna/ → /oːna/

Variant shift from Old Japanese womina → omina (see above).

Noun

女(おうな) • (ōna) ^{←をうな (wouna)?}

1. (archaic) a young woman

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
女
おな Grade: 1
kun'yomi

/wonːa/ → /wona/ → /ona/

Shift from onna (see above).

Noun

女(おな) • (ona) ^{←をな (wona)?}

1. (obsolete) a young woman

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
女
おなあ Grade: 1
kun'yomi

/wona/ → /wonaː/ → /onaː/

Long-pronounced form of ona (see above).

Noun

女(おなあ) • (onā) ^{←をなあ (wonaa)?}

1. (obsolete) a young woman

Etymology 7

Kanji in this term
女
じょ Grade: 1
kan'on

/dɨo/ → /d͡ʑo/

From Middle Chinese 女 (MC nrjoX|nrjoH).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) じょ [jóꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑo̞]

Noun

女(じょ) • (jo) ^{←ぢよ (dyo)?}

1. a woman, especially an actress or a prostitute

Proper noun

女(じょ) • (Jo) ^{←ぢよ (Dyo)?}

1. (Chinese astronomy) the Girl constellation, one of the Twenty-Eight Mansions

   Synonyms: うるき星 (Urukiboshi), 女宿 (Joshuku)

Suffix

女(じょ) • (-jo) ^{←ぢよ (-dyo)?}

1. (historical) suffixed to names of female figures in the Edo period

See also

• 雌(めす) (mesu)
• 嫗(おんな) (onna)
• くノ一(いち) (kunoichi)

Korean

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese 女 (MC nrjoX|nrjoH).

Historical readings

• Recorded as Middle Korean 녕〯 (Yale: nyě) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448.
• Recorded as Middle Korean 녕〮 (Yale: nyé) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448.
• Recorded as Middle Korean 녀 (nye)^訓 (Yale: nye) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Wikisource

女 (eumhun 계집 녀 (gyejip nyeo), word-initial (South Korea) 계집 여 (gyejip yeo))

1. hanja form^? of 녀/여 (“female; woman”)

Compounds

Compounds

• 여체 (女體, yeoche)
• 여인 (女人, yeoin)
• 여자 (女子, yeoja)
• 여장 (女裝, yeojang)
• 여진 (女眞, yeojin)
• 여성 (女性, yeoseong)
• 여신 (女神, yeosin)
• 여왕 (女王, yeowang)
• 여동생 (女同生, yeodongsaeng)
• 여학생 (女學生, yeohaksaeng)
• 차녀 (次女, chanyeo)
• 창녀 (娼女, changnyeo)
• 처녀 (處女, cheonyeo)
• 미녀 (美女, minyeo)
• 손녀 (孫女, sonnyeo)
• 소녀 (少女, sonyeo)
• 소녀 (小女, sonyeo)
• 수녀 (修女, sunyeo)
• 숙녀 (淑女, sungnyeo)
• 양녀 (養女, yangnyeo)
• 처녀막 (處女膜, cheonyeomak)
• 약혼녀 (約婚女, yakhonnyeo)
• 남존여비 (男尊女卑, namjonyeobi)
• 중남경녀 (重男輕女, jungnamgyeongnyeo)

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese 女 / 汝 (MC nyoX).

Hanja

女 (eumhun 너 여 (neo yeo))

1. (literary Chinese) hanja form^? of 여 (“you”)

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [7]

Vietnamese

Han character

女: Hán Việt readings: nữ (尼(ni)呂(lữ)切(thiết)), nhữ (忍(nhẫn)與(dữ)切(thiết))
女: Nôm readings: nợ, nữa, nữ, nỡ, nớ, nhỡ, lỡ, nửa, nhớ, nự

1. chữ Hán form of nữ (“female”).
2. Nôm form of nhớ (“to remember, to miss”).
3. Nôm form of nỡ (“to be willing”).
4. Nôm form of nữa (“furthermore”).
5. Nôm form of nợ (“to owe; debt”).
6. Nôm form of nửa (“half”).

Compounds

Compounds

• 宮女 (cung nữ)
• 腐女 (hủ nữ)
• 閨女 (khuê nữ)
• 嬌女 (kiều nữ)
• 伎女 (kỹ nữ)
• 烈女 (liệt nữ)
• 魔女 (ma nữ)
• 美女 (mĩ nữ)
• 男女 (nam nữ)
• 男女授受不親 (nam nữ thụ thụ bất thân)
• 男清女秀 (nam thanh nữ tú)
• 男食如虎，女食如貓 (nam thực như hổ, nữ thực như miêu)
• 男尊女卑 (nam tôn nữ ti)
• 玉女 (ngọc nữ)
• 一男曰有，一女曰無 (nhất nam viết hữu, thập nữ viết vô)
• 兒女 (nhi nữ)
• 女眞 (Nữ Chân)
• 女正 (nữ chính)
• 女工 (nữ công)
• 女界 (nữ giới)
• 女皇 (nữ hoàng)
• 女郎 (nữ lang)
• 女流 (nữ lưu)
• 女儿 (nữ nhi)
• 女娲 (Nữ Oa)
• 女權 (nữ quyền)
• 女士 (nữ sĩ)
• 女生 (nữ sinh)
• 女神 (nữ thần)
• 女性 (nữ tính)
• 女妝 (nữ trang)
• 女子 (nữ tử)
• 女將 (nữ tướng)
• 女王 (nữ vương)
• 婦女 (phụ nữ)
• 士女 (sĩ nữ)
• 侍女 (thị nữ)
• 少女 (thiếu nữ)
• 庶女 (thứ nữ)
• 淑女 (thục nữ)
• 賤女 (tiện nữ)
• 信女 (tín nữ)
• 素女 (tố nữ)
• 孫女 (Tôn Nữ)
• 貞女 (trinh nữ)
• 重男輕女 (trọng nam khinh nữ)
• 長女 (trưởng nữ)