哑 (yǎ) is a Chinese character meaning “unable to speak”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 亚 (inferior; second (also a sound component)), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “mute; unable to speak”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 亚
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·口部：「啞，笑也。从口亞聲。」简化字 哑 承 啞 之构形；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0–2 笔为口，3–8 笔为亚（3+6=9 画）
Memory aid
A mouth (口) that only ever comes in second (亚) — it is there, but it never gets to speak.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 哑巴yǎ bāa mute person; someone unable to speak哑 = yǎspoken asyǎ ba
- 沙哑shā yǎhoarse; husky (of a voice)哑 = yǎ
- 聋哑lóng yǎdeaf and mute哑 = yǎ
Go deeper
All readings
mute
unable to speak; mute; (of a voice) hoarse; (of a sound) muffled
不能说话；嗓音发不出声或不清脆。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 哑巴yǎ bāa mute person; someone unable to speak哑 = yǎspoken asyǎ ba
- 沙哑shā yǎhoarse; husky (of a voice)哑 = yǎ
- 聋哑lóng yǎdeaf and mute哑 = yǎ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 哑 mean?
哑 (yǎ) means unable to speak; mute; (of a voice) hoarse; (of a sound) muffled.
How do you pronounce 哑?
It is pronounced yǎ.
What parts is 哑 made of?
口 (mouth) and 亚 (inferior; second (also a sound component)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·口部：「啞，笑也。从口亞聲。」简化字 哑 承 啞 之构形；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0–2 笔为口，3–8 笔为亚（3+6=9 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 哑 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 哑?
口. 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 哑?
Common ones are 哑巴 and 沙哑. The reading of 哑 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.