🇨🇳 CHINESE · HSK 1

Chinese – Batch 04

女 · 子 · 男 · 父 · 母  ·  Reading · Listening · Writing

What is Pinyin? Pinyin is the official romanisation system for Mandarin Chinese. Every syllable has a tone — the same syllable said in a different tone is a completely different word. There are four tones plus a neutral tone:
1st (ā) — high & level  |  2nd (á) — rising, like a question  |  3rd (ǎ) — dip then rise  |  4th (à) — sharp fall  |  Neutral (a) — light, unstressed
In exercises you may type tone marks (rén) or tone numbers (ren2) — both are accepted.

📖 Pinyin Quick Reference — Batch 04

nv3 → nǚ
zi3 → zǐ
nan2 → nán
fu4 → fù
mu3 → mǔ

🔊 Hear all 5 tones — same syllable "fu", five different meanings:

fū Tone 1 — level 夫 · husband / man
fú Tone 2 — rising 福 · good fortune
fǔ Tone 3 — dip-rise 斧 · axe
fù Tone 4 — falling ★ 父 · father
dòufu Neutral — unstressed 豆腐 · tofu

★ = used in this batch  |  Neutral: in 豆腐 (dòufu), the 腐 loses its full tone and becomes short and unstressed — just like 们 in 人们.

Toneā / aē / eī / iū / uǖ / ü
1st — levelāēīūǖ
2nd — risingáéíúǘ
3rd — dip-riseǎěǐǔǚ
4th — fallingàèìùǜ
Neutralaeiuü

💡 The ü sound (as in 女 nǚ) does not exist in English. Round your lips as if saying "oo", then try to say "ee". On most keyboards type nv3 or nü3 — both accepted.

Progress: 0 / 4 exercises completed

Exercise A — Flashcard Practice

Click a card to flip it and reveal pinyin, meaning, and stroke info. Use the audio button to hear the pronunciation.

女
HSK 1
Tap to flip
nǚ
woman / female
3 strokes
1 / 9

Exercise B — Listen & Identify

Press the audio button to hear a character or compound, then choose the correct one.

Exercise C — Meaning Match

Look at the character or compound word and select its correct English meaning.

Exercise D — Reading in Context

The pinyin for each sentence is shown with one word missing. Type the missing pinyin (tone marks or tone numbers accepted), then hear the full sentence and repeat it aloud.

💡 Tip: 女 is nǚ — type nv3 or nü3 if you can't type ǚ. All forms are accepted.

Exercise E — Stroke Count

How many strokes does each character take to write? Use the tip to trace the character in your mind, then type your answer.

女 nǚ — woman / female

Pictograph: 女 depicts a kneeling or bowing figure with arms folded across the body — an ancient representation of a woman in a seated posture. Today it is one of the most productive radicals in Chinese; characters related to women, marriage, or female qualities often include 女 as a component (妈 mā mother, 姐 jiě older sister, 好 hǎo good).
⚠️ Sound note: The vowel ü (nǚ) does not exist in English — round your lips for "oo" and say "ee". On a standard keyboard, type nv3 or nü3.
🎵 nǚ — 3rd tone (上声 shǎngshēng): dip then rise. Think of a sceptical "hmm?" — start mid-low, dip lower, then bounce back up.
  • 女nǚwoman; female
  • 女子nǚzǐwoman; young woman (e.g. 女子排球 women's volleyball)
  • 子女zǐnǚchildren (sons and daughters)
Tā shì nǚzǐ.
她是女子。
She is a young woman.
Tā yǒu liǎng gè zǐnǚ.
他有两个子女。
He has two children.

子 zǐ — child / son

Pictograph: 子 shows a baby in swaddling clothes — a rounded head on top, arms outstretched to the sides, and a swaddled lower body tapering to a point. It is both a standalone word and an enormously common suffix in Chinese: 桌子 (table), 椅子 (chair), 孩子 (child), 房子 (house) — the 子 makes them nouns.
🎵 zǐ — 3rd tone (上声 shǎngshēng): dip then rise. As a noun suffix (as in 桌子, 椅子), 子 loses its tone and becomes neutral — a great reminder that the same character can carry different tones depending on its role!
  • 子zǐchild; son; seed
  • 子女zǐnǚchildren (sons and daughters)
  • 母子mǔzǐmother and child
Zhè shì fùzǐ.
这是父子。
This is a father and son.
Mǔzǐ hěn kuàilè.
母子很快乐。
The mother and child are very happy.

男 nán — man / male

Compound pictograph: 男 is built from two parts: 田 (field) on top and 力 (strength/power) on the bottom. Together they depict "the strength in the field" — a man's role in ancient agrarian society. It is one of the earliest logical compound characters (会意字 huìyì zì) in Chinese writing.
⚠️ Confusable: 男 vs 田 — 田 is just the top half (rice field, 5 strokes); 男 includes 力 below it and has more strokes total.
🎵 nán — 2nd tone (阳平 yángpíng): rising, like asking a question. Let your pitch sweep upward from mid to high — as if saying "yeah?" in disbelief.
  • 男nánman; male
  • 男子nánzǐman; male (formal)
  • 男人nánrénman (everyday speech)
Tā shì gè nánrén.
他是个男人。
He is a man.
Nánzǐ hé nǚzǐ dōu lái le.
男子和女子都来了。
Both men and women have come.

父 fù — father

Pictograph: 父 depicts a hand gripping a stick — representing a father's authority and role as disciplinarian or leader in the family. The two crossing strokes suggest the stick or tool, and the lower strokes represent the gripping hand. As a component, 父 appears in 爸 (bà, dad) and 爷 (yé, grandfather).
🎵 fù — 4th tone (去声 qùshēng): sharp falling tone, like a decisive command. Drop from high pitch to low in one quick sweep — firm and final.
  • 父fùfather (formal/literary)
  • 父母fùmǔparents (lit. "father-mother")
  • 父子fùzǐfather and son
Tā yǒu hǎo fùmǔ.
他有好父母。
He has good parents.
Fùzǐ hěn xiàng.
父子很像。
The father and son look very alike.

母 mǔ — mother

Pictograph: 母 is derived from 女 (woman) with two dots added inside — the dots represent a mother's breasts, symbolising nourishment and care. This makes it one of the most visually intuitive characters to remember: 女 (woman) + two dots = 母 (mother). As a component, 母 appears in characters related to origins and nurturing.
🎵 mǔ — 3rd tone (上声 shǎngshēng): dip then rise. Both 女 (nǚ) and 母 (mǔ) share the 3rd tone — helpful for remembering the pair!
  • 母mǔmother (formal/literary)
  • 父母fùmǔparents
  • 母子mǔzǐmother and child
Tā ài mǔqīn.
她爱母亲。
She loves her mother.
Mǔzǐ hěn qīnmì.
母子很亲密。
The mother and child are very close.

Tone System

ToneMarkNumberChinese nameDescriptionBatch example
1stā1阴平 yīnpíngHigh & levelfū (夫 husband)
2ndá2阳平 yángpíngRising, like a questionnán (男 man)
3rdǎ3上声 shǎngshēngDip then risenǚ (女 woman) · zǐ (子 child) · mǔ (母 mother)
4thà4去声 qùshēngSharp fallingfù (父 father)
Neutral·a—轻声 qīngshēngLight, unstressed·fu (豆腐 tofu) · ·zi suffix (桌子 table)

Stroke Order Principles

  1. Top before bottom
  2. Left before right
  3. Horizontal before vertical (when crossing)
  4. Left-falling strokes before right-falling strokes
  5. Centre before sides (for symmetric characters)
  6. Enclosures: draw the frame first, fill inside, then close the bottom
  7. Minor strokes (dots, hooks) last
  8. Each unbroken line — no matter its direction — counts as one stroke

Batch 04 Summary

CharacterPinyinMeaningStrokesHSK
女nǚwoman / female3HSK 1
子zǐchild / son3HSK 1
男nánman / male7HSK 1
父fùfather4HSK 1
母mǔmother5HSK 1

Pinyin Typing Guide

In all exercises, both forms are accepted:
• Tone marks: nǚ, zǐ, nán, fù, mǔ
• Tone numbers: nv3 (or nü3), zi3, nan2, fu4, mu3
Use whichever is easier to type on your device.

🔊 Audio pronunciation powered by the Web Speech API (built into your browser, no external service).
For a comprehensive pinyin reference, visit Yabla Chinese Pinyin Chart.
Stroke order practice: Skritter · Character lookup: MDBG Dictionary.