婶 (shěn) is a Chinese character meaning “wife of one’s father’s younger brother”. It is written from 女 (woman; female) and 审 (to examine; a roof 宀 over 申; the sound part of 婶), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “aunt (father’s younger brother’s wife)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
女 + 审
Left–right structure
Structure from: makemeahanzi dictionary (decomposition ⿰女审; etymology pictophonetic: 女 semantic, 审 phonetic) + cjkvi-ids U+5A76 ⿰女审
Memory aid
A woman (女) who examines (审) everyone at family dinners — that is your aunt, 婶婶.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 婶婶shěn shenaunt (wife of father’s younger brother)婶 = shěn
- 大婶dà shěnauntie (polite address for a married woman about one’s mother’s age)婶 = shěn
Go deeper
All readings
aunt (wife of father’s younger brother)
wife of one’s father’s younger brother; aunt; also a polite form of address for a married woman about one’s mother’s age
叔叔的妻子；也用来称呼与母亲年纪相仿的已婚妇女。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 婶婶shěn shenaunt (wife of father’s younger brother)婶 = shěn
- 大婶dà shěnauntie (polite address for a married woman about one’s mother’s age)婶 = shěn
Sound component
审 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 婶 mean?
婶 (shěn) means wife of one’s father’s younger brother; aunt; also a polite form of address for a married woman about one’s mother’s age.
How do you pronounce 婶?
It is pronounced shěn.
What parts is 婶 made of?
女 (woman; female) and 审 (to examine; a roof 宀 over 申; the sound part of 婶), side by side. The recorded source is: makemeahanzi dictionary (decomposition ⿰女审; etymology pictophonetic: 女 semantic, 审 phonetic) + cjkvi-ids U+5A76 ⿰女审. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 婶 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 婶?
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 婶?
Common ones are 婶婶 and 大婶. The reading of 婶 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.