How to Write 雌 (cí) — Meaning “female (biological)”

Think of the left part 此 as looking like a pair of scissors (for cutting) and the right part 隹 as a bird. Imagine a female bird using scissors to cut a ribbon — this unusual image helps you remember that 雌 means 'female'. The pinyin 'cí' sounds like 'see', so you can also think 'see the female bird with scissors'.

Write the left component 此 first (6 strokes: vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal, horizontal, left-falling stroke, then a hook? Actually 此 has 6 strokes: order is left-to-right: first the vertical of 止, then horizontal, vertical, horizontal, horizontal, then the last two strokes are a left-falling stroke and a vertical hook? Better to follow standard: 此 is written as 止 (4 strokes: vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal) then 匕 (2 strokes: left-falling and vertical hook). The right side 隹 has 8 strokes. Keep the left 此 narrower than the right 隹, and make sure the vertical strokes are straight. A common mistake is writing the left side too wide, making the character unbalanced.

The character 雁 (yàn, wild goose) looks like 雌 but has a 厂 (cliff) on the top-left instead of 此. So 雁 has a roof-like shape on the left, while 雌 has a square left part 此. The rare character 䧹 is even more obscure and is often a variant of 雁. Remember: 雌 uses 此 (this) on the left, while 雁 uses 厂 (cliff) on the top-left.

雌 is used in biological or scientific contexts to indicate the female sex of animals and plants, such as in 雌性 (cí xìng, female) and 雌蕊 (cí ruǐ, pistil). It appears in the idiom 决一雌雄 (jué yī cí xióng), meaning 'fight it out for victory', where 雌雄 originally meant 'female and male'. Avoid using 雌 for humans; instead use 女 (nǚ) for female people.

Common words containing 雌 include: 雌性 (cí xìng) — female (biological); 雌雄 (cí xióng) — male and female; victory and defeat; 雌蕊 (cí ruǐ) — pistil (of a flower).