姐 (jiě) is a Chinese character meaning “elder sister”. It is written from 女 (woman; female) and 且 (moreover; for the time being), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “elder sister”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
女 + 且
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：女 3 画 + 且 5 画 = 8 画）
Memory aid
A woman (女) standing next to 且, a stack of layers piled one above another. She is the one born a layer above you — your elder sister.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 姐妹jiě mèisisters姐 = jiě
Go deeper
All readings
elder sister
elder sister; a polite form of address for a young woman
姐姐；同辈中年纪比自己大的女子，也用来称呼年轻女子。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 姐妹jiě mèisisters姐 = jiě
Sound component
且 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 姐 mean?
姐 (jiě) means elder sister; a polite form of address for a young woman.
How do you pronounce 姐?
It is pronounced jiě.
What parts is 姐 made of?
女 (woman; female) and 且 (moreover; for the time being), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：女 3 画 + 且 5 画 = 8 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 姐 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 姐?
女. 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 姐?
Common ones are 姐妹. The reading of 姐 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.