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]

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character

女 (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

• Index:Chinese radical/女, 姦

Descendants

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

References

• KangXi: 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

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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”), which has developed similarly, but also includes dots for nipples and has retained both breasts.

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.		女
alternative forms		𠨰

女性

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *nja-ŋ/k (“woman”).

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

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): nǚ (nü³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄩˇ

  (Chengdu, SP): nyü³

  (Dungan, Cyrillic): нү (nü, II)

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou, Jyutping): neoi⁵, neoi^5-2, neoi^5-1

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): nui²

• Gan (Wiktionary): nyy³ / nyyn³
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): ńg

  (Meixian, Guangdong): n³

• Jin (Wiktionary): ny²
• Min Bei (KCR): nṳ̌
• Min Dong (BUC): nṳ̄

• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): lú / lí / lír

  (Teochew, Peng'im): neng²

• Wu (Wiktionary): nyy (T3)
• Xiang (Wiktionary): nyy³

---

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

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

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: neoi⁵, neoi^5-2, neoi^5-1
    • Yale: néuih, néui, nēui
    • Cantonese Pinyin: noey⁵, noey^5-2, noey^5-1
    • Guangdong Romanization: nêu⁵, nêu², nêu¹
    • 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 Meinong)
  • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ńg
  • Hakka Romanization System: ng`
  • Hagfa Pinyim: ng³
  • Sinological IPA: /ŋ̍³¹/
• (Meixian)
  • Guangdong: n³
  • Sinological IPA: /n̩³¹/

Jin

• (Taiyuan)⁺
  • Wiktionary: ny²
  • Sinological IPA (old-style): /ny⁵³/

Min Bei

• (Jian'ou)
  • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: nṳ̌
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ny²¹/

Min Dong

• (Fuzhou)
  • Bàng-uâ-cê: nṳ̄
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nˡy³³/

Min Nan

• (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Magong)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lú
  • Tâi-lô: lú
  • Phofsit Daibuun: luo
  • IPA (Quanzhou): /lu⁵⁵⁴/
  • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei): /lu⁵³/
  • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lu⁴¹/
• (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Yilan, Hsinchu, Taichung)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lí
  • Tâi-lô: lí
  • Phofsit Daibuun: lie
  • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /li⁵³/
• (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Lukang, Sanxia, Kinmen, Hsinchu)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lír
  • Tâi-lô: lír
  • IPA (Kinmen): /lɯ⁵³/
  • IPA (Quanzhou): /lɯ⁵⁵⁴/

Note:

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

(Teochew)

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

Wu

• (Shanghainese)
  • Wiktionary: nyy (T3)
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /n̠ʲy²³/

Xiang

• (Changsha)
  • Wiktionary: nyy³
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /n̠ʲy⁴¹/

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• 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 (Min Nan)	/lu⁵³/ /li⁵³/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/ny³²/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/ny²¹/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/nɯŋ⁵³/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/nu²¹³/

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• Middle Chinese: /ɳɨʌ^X/

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
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

• 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  ―  cìnǚ  ―  second daughter

   佢係我個女。 / 佢系我个女。 [Cantonese]  ―  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, slang) girlfriend (Classifier: 條／条 c)
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

• See 女/derived terms § Woman (Chinese).

Compounds

• See 女/derived terms § Woman (Chinese).

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

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

---

• Middle Chinese: /ɳɨʌ^H/

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
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

• 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

Etymology 2

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

References

• “女”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

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Japanese

Kanji

女

(grade 1 “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, historical)←をみな (womina, ancient)}; め (me, 女, Jōyō)
• Nanori: おな (ona); た (ta); つき (tsuki); な (na)

Compounds

• See 女/derived terms § Kanji.

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 below).

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

Pronunciation

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

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

女(おんな) • (onna) ^{←をんな (wonna)?}

1. a woman
   • 1999 July 5, “斬(ざん)首(しゅ)の美(び)女(じょ) [The Beheading Beauty]”, in BOOSTER 3, Konami:

     その美(び)貌(ぼう)とはうらはらに、カタナで数(かず)多(おお)くの首(くび)をはねてきた女(おんな)。

     Sono bibō to wa urahara ni, katana de kazuōku no kubi o hanetekita onna.

     A lady who has decapitated a great many with her katana, which is in stark contrast to her beautiful appearance.

   Antonym: 男 (otoko)

2. a wife

   Synonyms: 妻 (tsuma), 女房 (nyōbō)

3. a mistress, concubine

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

4. a maid

   Synonyms: 下女 (gejo), 女中 (jochū)

5. a prostitute

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

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

• See 女/derived terms § Woman (Japanese).

Idioms

• See 女/derived terms § Woman (Japanese).

Proverbs

• See 女/derived terms § Woman (Japanese).

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, confer Old Japanese 火's two readings /po/ & /pu/ in Western & Eastern Old Japanese, respectively (Vovin, 2017)).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

女(おみな) • (omina) ^{←をみな (womina)?}

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

Derived terms

• See 女/derived terms § Young woman (Japanese).

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 *mya.

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

Pronunciation

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

Alternative forms

• (wife): 妻
• (female): 雌, 牝

Noun

女(め) • (me) 

1. a woman

   Antonym: 男 (o)

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

• See 女/derived terms § Woman (2) (Japanese).

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
女
Grade: 1
Irregular

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

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

Alternative forms

• 嬢

Noun

女(おうな) • (ōna) ^{←をうな (wouna)?}

1. (archaic) a young woman

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
女
Grade: 1
Irregular

/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
Grade: 1
Irregular

/wona/ → /wonaː/ → /onaː/

Long-pronounced form of ona (see above).

Noun

女(おなあ) • (onā) ^{←をなあ (wonā)?}

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 ɳɨʌ^X, ɳɨʌ^H).

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)

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Korean

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese 女 (MC ɳɨʌ^X, ɳɨʌ^H). Recorded as Middle Korean 녀 (Yale: nye) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Wikisource

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

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

Compounds

• See 女/derived terms § Woman (Korean).

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese 女 / 汝 (MC ȵɨʌ^X).

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. [2]

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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. Hán tự form of nữ (“female”).
2. Hán tự form of nhữ (“(obsolete) you”).
3. Nôm form of nợ (“debt; to owe”).
4. Nôm form of nữa (“more; further”).

Compounds

• See 女/derived terms § Woman (Vietnamese).