娜 (nà) is a Chinese character meaning “used in female given names and to transcribe foreign names”. It is written from 女 (woman; female) and 那 (that; those), side by side, and takes 9 strokes. It has a second reading, nuó, which turns up in 婀娜 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “used in women's names (Anna)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
女 + 那
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS (现代字形拆分，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验)
Memory aid
A woman (女) over there — "that" (那) one — is Anna. 娜 sounds like 那 and shows up in women's names.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 安娜ān nàAnna (a female given name)娜 = nà
Go deeper
All readings
used in women's names
used in female given names and to transcribe foreign names (e.g. Anna)
多用于女子人名及外语人名的译音。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 安娜ān nàAnna (a female given name)娜 = nà
graceful (in 婀娜)
graceful; lithe — used in the word 婀娜
用于「婀娜」，形容姿态柔美。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 婀娜ē nuógraceful; lithe (of a woman's figure or of willow branches)娜 = nuó
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 娜 mean?
娜 (nà) means used in female given names and to transcribe foreign names (e.g. Anna).
How do you pronounce 娜?
Its main reading is nà. It also has a second reading, nuó, which only shows up in certain words such as 婀娜 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 娜 sometimes pronounced nuó?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 婀娜 it is read nuó.
What parts is 娜 made of?
女 (woman; female) and 那 (that; those), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS (现代字形拆分，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 娜 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 娜?
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 娜?
Common ones are 安娜. The reading of 娜 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.