📖 Meaning & Origin
The 女 radical depicts a woman in a kneeling or graceful posture. It appears in kanji related to women, family relationships between females, and positive qualities.
📚 Kanji by JLPT Level
🔍 Don't confuse it with
Historically connected and visually similar, but 母 adds two dots and a longer crossing stroke. 母 is mother.
Not a confusion so much as a reminder: 安 is 宀 (roof) over 女, so the woman is inside a house rather than beside something.
📈 Beyond N5 — what comes next
| Kanji | Reading | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 始 | し / はじまる | to begin | N4 |
| 妻 | さい / つま | wife | N3 |
| 婚 | こん | marriage | N2 |
JLPT does not publish official kanji lists by level. These levels follow the commonly used reference lists and are a guide, not a guarantee.
🗣️ Words you will actually meet
🎯 How to use this radical in JLPT study
女 appears on the left in 姉, 妹, 好 and 始, and underneath in 安; on the left it narrows and the crossing stroke shortens, while standing alone it opens out. Most 女 kanji are family terms (姉, 妹, 妻) or relationships (好, 婚), so they group easily when you study. One piece of context: the meanings attached to this radical were fixed centuries ago, and some reflect the assumptions of that time rather than modern Japanese. Learn the characters as vocabulary; you do not have to accept the reasoning behind them. In handwriting, keep the stroke order in mind: the crossing stroke comes last, and getting it wrong changes the balance enough that 妹 and 姉 stop looking like themselves.
💡 Teacher's Memory Tip
Two crossed lines with a curved base, a figure kneeling gracefully. Kanji with 女 often relate to women, sisters, or positive feelings (like 好, 'to like').
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
The 女 radical means 'woman' or 'female.' It forms the base of many family relationship kanji like 姉 (older sister) and 妹 (younger sister).
N5 kanji with 女: 女 (woman), 姉 (older sister), 妹 (younger sister), 好 (like/love, woman + child = to love, to like).
The shape looks like a figure in a graceful bow. Remember: woman (女) + child (子) = 好 (to like), a mother loving her child.
Other N5 Radicals
Practice 「女」 kanji with AI
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