How to Write 妩 (wǔ) — Meaning “charming; lovely”

Imagine a woman (女) with no (无) flaws—that makes her charming and lovely. The visual of a perfect woman helps link the parts to the meaning.

Write 女 first (3 strokes: left fold, right fold, then horizontal) then 无 (4 strokes: two horizontals, a left-falling stroke, and a vertical hook). A common mistake is making the left side too wide; keep 女 narrow so the right side 无 has space.

The right side of 妩 is 无 (meaning "without"), while 奴 has 又 (hand) and 奶 has 乃 (milk). Visually, 无 looks like a stylized "nothing" shape. In meaning, 妩 is positive (charming), but 奴 means "slave" and 奶 means "milk" or "breast."

妩 appears mostly in literary or poetic descriptions of women's beauty, such as 妩媚 (wǔ mèi, enchanting). It is not part of HSK vocabulary and is considered elegant or classical, often used to describe scenery or charm in traditional writing.

Common words containing 妩 include: 妩媚 (wǔ mèi) — charming; enchanting; 娇妩 (jiāo wǔ) — charming; 妩然 (wǔ rán) — charmingly.