TongTong
Sign in

妇女 (fù nǚ) — woman

Definition

妇女 is the formal, written word for 'women' (as a group), often in official or collective contexts like 妇女节. More everyday than 女性, and broader than 女人 (which usually means a single woman).

noun
woman
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 妇女。
    Wǒ men shè qū de fù nǚ men yì qǐ zǔ zhī le qìng zhù huó dòng.
    The women in our community organized a celebration together.
  • 妇女。
    Zhè wèi fù nǚ kē xué jiā huò dé le guó jì dà jiǎng.
    This female scientist won an international award.
  • 妇女。
    fù nǚ De jiàn kāng wèn tí yīng gāi dé dào gèng duō guān zhù.
    Women's health issues should receive more attention.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

妇fùwoman
女nǚfemale

妇 means woman and 女 means female, so the pair names women.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 婦; 妇 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
帚
帚zhǒu婦fù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 婦 pairs 女 (woman) with 帚 (broom), and the Shuowen reads it as a woman holding a broom. The simplified 妇 is a shorthand.

Open 妇 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

女 shows a woman with folded arms, kneeling or standing. In the modern form the figure faces right, and the small enclosed part is what is left of one arm.

Open 女 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5People (General)5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.