How to Write 伢 (yá) — Meaning “Child (dialect).”

Imagine a small child (亻) proudly showing off their new baby teeth (牙). The picture of a person with little teeth helps you recall that 伢 means 'child' in some dialects.

Write the left radical 亻 first (撇 then 竖), then the right part 牙: start with 横, then 竖折, then 竖钩, and finally 撇. A common mistake is mixing up the stroke order in 牙, especially writing the vertical hook before the horizontal fold.

伢 (yá) uses 牙 (tooth) and means 'child' in dialect. 什 (shén/shí) uses 十 (ten) and means 'what' or 'ten'. 仁 (rén) uses 二 (two) and means 'benevolence'. The right components look different: 牙 has more strokes than 十 or 二.

伢 is a dialect word, common in parts of southern China like Hunan and Jiangxi, meaning 'child' or 'boy'. You will see it in words like 伢子 (boy) and 细伢子 (small child). It is not used in standard Mandarin or in HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 伢 include: 伢子 (yá zi) — Boy; child (dialect).; 细伢子 (xì yá zi) — small child (dialect); 伢儿 (yá ér) — Children; child (dialect)..