How to Write 妪 (yù) — Meaning “old woman”

Picture an old woman (女) living in a small district or area (区). The right part 区 looks like a map of a district, and you can imagine the old woman as a familiar figure in that neighborhood. This visual link helps connect the components to the meaning "old woman."

Pay attention to the stroke order: write the left radical 女 first (撇点, 撇, 横), then the right component 区 with four strokes: 横, 撇, 点, 竖折. Common mistakes include writing the inner part of 区 as 乂 (two strokes crossing) instead of the correct order (撇 then 点). Also, the horizontal line in 女 should extend slightly to balance with the right side.

妪 (yù) means "old woman" and its right side is 区 (area). 奴 (nú) means "slave" and has the right side 又 (hand), often referring to a female servant in ancient times. 奶 (nǎi) means "milk" or is used as an informal term for "grandma," with the right side 乃; it is more common and casual than 妪.

妪 is a literary and formal character, rarely used in everyday conversation. It appears in written works, classical texts, or formal descriptions like 老妪 (lǎo yù, old woman) and 农妪 (nóng yù, old farm woman). Learners may encounter it when reading historical stories or poetry, but it is not part of the HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 妪 include: 老妪 (lǎo yù) — Old woman.; 农妪 (nóng yù) — Old farm woman; 妪媪 (yù ǎo) — old lady.