How to Write 孥 (nú) — Meaning “children; wife and children”

Imagine a slave (奴) carrying a child (子) on their back — that child and the slave together represent the whole family burden. The picture of a servant taking care of a child helps you remember that 孥 means 'wife and children' or the family unit.

The top part 奴 is wider and covers the bottom part 子; make sure the 女 in 奴 is balanced and the 又 is placed correctly. A common mistake is making the bottom 子 too large — it should be compact and sit under the 奴 component. Pay attention to the horizontal stroke of 子 extending slightly right, but not beyond the top width.

孥 (nú) means family or children, while 字 (zì) means character or letter and contains 子 under a roof. 存 (cún) means to exist or keep and has 子 with 一/𠂉 on top. Visually, 孥 has the 奴 component on top, whereas 字 has 宀 (roof) and 存 has 一/𠂉 (a different top). Their meanings are completely unrelated.

孥 is a literary or formal character, rarely used in daily conversation, appearing mainly in fixed expressions like 妻孥 (wife and children) or 罪及妻孥 (punishment extending to family). Culturally, 孥 reflects the traditional Chinese concept that a man's crime could affect his entire household, including women and children, showing the strong family bond in ancient law.

Common words containing 孥 include: 妻孥 (qī nú) — Wife and children.; 罪及妻孥 (zuì jí qī nú) — Punishment extending to one's wife and children; 孥累 (nú lèi) — burden of family (wife and children).