娶 (qǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “(of a man) to marry”. It is written from 取 (to take; to get) and 女 (woman; female), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to marry (a wife)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
取 + 女
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 娶，取妇也。从女从取，取亦声
Memory aid
On top, 取 (to take); below, 女 (woman). A groom goes to take a woman home as his wife — that is 娶.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 娶妻qǔ qīto take a wife; (of a man) to get married娶 = qǔ
- 嫁娶jià qǔmarriage (lit. a woman marrying and a man taking a wife)娶 = qǔ
Go deeper
All readings
to marry (a wife)
(of a man) to marry; to take a wife
男子把女子迎接过来成亲；娶妻。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 娶妻qǔ qīto take a wife; (of a man) to get married娶 = qǔ
- 嫁娶jià qǔmarriage (lit. a woman marrying and a man taking a wife)娶 = qǔ
Sound component
取 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 娶 mean?
娶 (qǔ) means (of a man) to marry; to take a wife.
How do you pronounce 娶?
It is pronounced qǔ.
What parts is 娶 made of?
取 (to take; to get) and 女 (woman; female), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 娶，取妇也。从女从取，取亦声. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 娶 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 娶?
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 娶?
Common ones are 娶妻 and 嫁娶. The reading of 娶 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.