婉 (wǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “tactful”. It is written from 女 (woman; female) and 宛 (winding; as if (sound component wǎn)), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “tactful; gentle”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
女 + 宛
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：婉，順也。从女，宛聲（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 1–3 为 女，笔画 4–11 与 宛 逐笔对应）
Memory aid
A woman (女) beside 宛, the sound part (wǎn). She never says things straight out — her words wind gently around, like the curling 宛. That is 婉: gentle and tactful.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 委婉wěi wǎntactful; indirect; gentle (of speech)婉 = wǎnspoken aswéi wǎn
- 婉拒wǎn jùto politely decline婉 = wǎn
Go deeper
All readings
tactful; gentle
tactful; indirect in speech; gentle; graceful
说话含蓄、委婉，不直截了当；也指柔顺、美好。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 委婉wěi wǎntactful; indirect; gentle (of speech)婉 = wǎnspoken aswéi wǎn
- 婉拒wǎn jùto politely decline婉 = wǎn
Sound component
宛 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 婉 mean?
婉 (wǎn) means tactful; indirect in speech; gentle; graceful.
How do you pronounce 婉?
It is pronounced wǎn.
What parts is 婉 made of?
女 (woman; female) and 宛 (winding; as if (sound component wǎn)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：婉，順也。从女，宛聲（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 1–3 为 女，笔画 4–11 与 宛 逐笔对应）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 婉 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 婉?
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 婉?
Common ones are 委婉 and 婉拒. The reading of 婉 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.