How to Write 孕 (yùn) — Meaning “pregnant; to conceive”

Imagine a pregnant person with a big belly (the top part) that contains a small baby (the 子 radical below). You can think of the top shape as a round belly with a baby tucked inside, making it easy to recall the meaning 'pregnant'.

Start with the top part: write the curved horizontal stroke, then the hook, and finally the left-falling stroke. Then add the 子 radical below, making sure the child radical is centered under the belly shape. Avoid making the top part too wide or disconnected from the bottom.

子 means 'child' or 'son' and is a standalone character, 孑 means 'lonely' or 'small' and lacks the top belly component. 孕 uniquely combines the belly shape above 子 to indicate pregnancy, while 孑 and 子 do not imply pregnancy at all.

孕 appears in common words like 怀孕 (to be pregnant) and 孕妇 (pregnant woman). In Chinese culture, pregnancy is often treated with care and traditional practices like avoiding certain foods, and the character 孕 is used respectfully in medical and daily contexts.

Common words containing 孕 include: 怀孕 (huái yùn) — to be pregnant; pregnancy; 孕妇 (yùn fù) — pregnant woman; 孕育 (yùn yù) — to nurture; to give rise to; to breed.