Chinese character for daughter: 女儿 (nǚ'ér)
The Chinese word for daughter is 女儿 (nǚ'ér). It is the everyday word for a daughter. 女 means woman or female and 儿 means child.
How 女儿 is built
女 (nǚ) is a pictograph of a woman kneeling with her arms crossed in front, a respectful posture in ancient China. 儿 (ér) comes from 兒, a picture of a small child; the simplified form keeps only the legs. Together, 女儿 is a female child: a daughter. The apostrophe in nǚ'ér shows where the syllables divide. The traditional form is 女兒.
女 nǚ · female
女 is not built from smaller parts; it is written with 3 strokes.
Origin hint: A woman turned to the side (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
儿 ér · child
- 丿 — falling stroke
- 乚 — hook stroke
Origin hint: Simplified form of 兒, a picture of a child; compare 人 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
How 女儿 is used
Before you use it as a tattoo or design: Use 女儿 (simplified) or 女兒 (traditional); her Chinese name or birth date can make the design more personal.
Questions
What is the Chinese character for daughter?
女儿 (nǚ'ér) means “daughter”. In traditional characters it is written 女兒.
How do you pronounce 女儿?
女儿 is pronounced nǚ'ér.
Is 女儿 simplified or traditional?
女儿 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore; 女兒 is the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong.