How to Write 姥 (lǎo) — Meaning “Maternal grandmother”

Picture an old woman (老) who is a female (女) — your mother's mother. The visual of an elderly lady with a walking stick can help you connect 女 and 老 to create 姥. Think: "Old (老) woman (女) = maternal grandmother (姥)."

The left side 女 should be written slim, with the third stroke (horizontal) crossing the left-falling and right-falling strokes. The right side 老 has a hook stroke (竖弯钩) that curves to the right; make sure it extends outward, and don't forget the final horizontal stroke at the bottom. A common mistake is writing the hook too small or skipping the last horizontal.

姥 contains the component 老 (old), while 妊 has 壬 (pregnancy) and 妍 has 开 (open/beauty). Visually, the right half is different: 姥 is the only one with the old-age element. Meaning-wise, 姥 means maternal grandmother, 妊 means pregnant, and 妍 means beautiful — they are unrelated in usage.

姥 is most often used in the words 姥姥 (maternal grandmother) and 姥爷 (maternal grandfather), which are common in everyday speech, especially in northern China. In Chinese culture, families clearly distinguish between maternal and paternal grandparents, so 姥 specifically refers to the mother's side of the family.

Common words containing 姥 include: 姥姥 (lǎo lao) — Maternal grandmother; 姥爷 (lǎo yé) — maternal grandfather; 姥家 (lǎo jiā) — Maternal grandmother's home.