娲

媧
wā
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 name of the mythical goddess Nüwa (classical)

Examples

HSK 7-9
Chuánshuō Nǚwā liàn wǔsè shí bǔtiān.
Legend says the goddess Nüwa melted five-colored stones to mend the sky.

Tips

history
娲 has no independent use; it appears only in the name 女娲, the goddess who created humanity from clay and patched the broken sky. It pairs the woman radical 女 with 呙 for the sound, the same phonetic seen in 锅 and 涡.
culture
女娲 is one of the oldest figures in Chinese myth - the creator-mother who mends heaven, paired with 伏羲 in many legends.

Components

radical
女 nǚ
woman; female
Woman radical 女 on the left - fitting for a goddess. It marks 娲 as a female divine name, the way ancient female names and clan names were tagged.
phonetic
呙 guō
crooked mouth
呙 on the right gives the sound frame. The same phonetic appears in 锅, 涡 and 蜗, a useful cluster for the reading.

Stroke Order

娲 wā