丫 (yā) is a Chinese character meaning “a forked shape”. It takes 3 strokes.
Learn to write “fork; girl”
Watch the stroke order, then write the character yourself. · 3 strokes
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Structure
丫
Single unit
- 丫 forked shape · yā unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+4E2B and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection
Memory aid
The three strokes open into the forked shape of 丫; remember it as the character yā.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
3 strokes
In real words
- 丫头yā tougirl; lass丫 = yā
- 丫鬟yā huanmaidservant丫 = yā
Go deeper
All readings
fork; girl
a forked shape; also used in words referring to a girl or young woman
分叉的形状；也用于指女孩或年轻女子的词语。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 丫头yā tougirl; lass丫 = yā
- 丫鬟yā huanmaidservant丫 = yā
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 丫 mean?
丫 (yā) means a forked shape; also used in words referring to a girl or young woman.
How do you pronounce 丫?
It is pronounced yā.
How many strokes does 丫 have?
3. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 丫?
丨. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 丫?
Common ones are 丫头 and 丫鬟. The reading of 丫 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.