娘 meaning and stroke order
Mother; young lady; (coll.) effeminate
How to write 娘, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 娘
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- mother
- young lady
- (coll.) effeminate
- variant of 娘[niang2]
How 娘 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Woman.
女 gives the meaning and 良 hints at the sound.
Radical: 女 (woman), shared by 156 characters on this site.
How to remember 娘
娘 combines 女 (woman) with 良 (liáng), which hints at the sound. Picture a good woman, 良 meaning good, and you have a mother or a young lady.
On its own, 娘 means mother in older or regional speech, but it appears most often in compounds like 姑娘 (gūniang, girl) and 新娘 (xīnniáng, bride). Example: 那个姑娘很漂亮。(Nàge gūniang hěn piàoliang.) That girl is very pretty.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 娘 with 狼 (láng, wolf) or 浪 (làng, wave), because all three use 良 on the right. Also note that in 姑娘 (gūniang) the 娘 is usually read with a neutral tone, not a full second tone.
Common words with 娘
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 姑娘 | gūniang | girl; young woman | HSK 3 |
| 新娘 | xīnniáng | bride | HSK 4 |
| 老板娘 | lǎobǎnniáng | female proprietor; lady boss | |
| 娘娘腔 | niángniangqiāng | sissy; effeminate | |
| 老娘 | lǎoniáng | my old mother; I, this old woman | |
| 伴娘 | bànniáng | bridesmaid; maid of honor | |
| 娘娘 | niángniang | queen; empress | |
| 婆娘 | póniang | (dialect) wife; (derog.) woman | |
| 新娘子 | xīnniángzi | see 新娘[xin1 niang2] | |
| 娘家 | niángjiā | wife's family (before marriage) | |
| 娘子 | niángzǐ | (dialect) form of address for one's wife; polite form of address for a woman | |
| 娘炮 | niángpào | (slang) effeminate man; sissy | |
| 大娘 | dàniáng | (coll.) father's older brother's wife; aunt (polite address) | |
| 爹娘 | diēniáng | (dialect) parents |
娘 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 娘
How many strokes are in 娘?
娘 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 娘 mean?
娘 (niáng) means mother; young lady; (coll.) effeminate. A common word with it is 姑娘 (gūniang), meaning "girl; young woman".
How do you pronounce 娘?
娘 is pronounced niáng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 娘?
The radical of 娘 is 女, which carries the idea of "woman". Dictionaries list 娘 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 娘?
The traditional form of 娘 is 孃. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 娘 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 娘 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 娘 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
Is 娘 the normal word for mom in Mandarin?
Not in standard modern Mandarin, where 妈妈 (māma) is the everyday word. 娘 for mother sounds rural, old-fashioned, or dialectal, though you will hear it in northern regions and in TV dramas.
Is 娘 ever rude or insulting?
It can be. 娘娘腔 (niángniangqiāng) mocks a man as effeminate, and 婆娘 (póniang) can be derogatory for a woman. 老娘 (lǎoniáng) used by a woman about herself sounds tough and sassy, so use it carefully.