母 (mǔ) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

mǔ mother; female elders; female 5 strokes · Radical 母 (mother) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 母 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced mǔ.

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

1 2 3 4 5
母 — 5 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图（数字为下笔顺序）。

Radical

The radical of 母 is 母 — meaning mother. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

How the character is built

母 is an ideographic compound — its meaning is suggested by the combination of its parts rather than by sound. A mother's breasts.

HSK 4 Words Containing 母

父母 fùmǔ parents; father and mother
父母总是担心孩子的安全。
Fùmǔ zǒngshì dānxīn háizi de ānquán.
Parents always worry about their children's safety.
母女 mǔnǚ mother and daughter
那对母女长得很像。
Nà duì mǔnǚ zhǎng de hěn xiàng.
That mother and daughter look very alike.
母亲 mǔqīn mother
母亲的爱是最伟大的。
Mǔqīn de ài shì zuì wěidà de.
A mother's love is the greatest.
母子 mǔzǐ mother and son
这对母子关系很好。
Zhè duì mǔzǐ guānxì hěn hǎo.
This mother and son have a good relationship.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

母 appears in 36 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

父母要多表扬孩子。
From Mock Exam 06 →
父母对孩子要讲信用。
From Mock Exam 19 →
做子女的总是希望父母老了以后能在家中好好休息，不要那么辛苦。
From Mock Exam 12 →

Tasks Featuring 母 / 相关任务

Words containing 母 appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 谈论情感话题
Discuss Emotions · 父母、母女、母亲

FAQ

What does 母 mean in Chinese?

母 (mǔ) means mother; female elders; female. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 母 have?

母 is written in 5 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 母?

The radical of 母 is 母 (mother).

What is the pinyin for 母?

母 is pronounced mǔ.

What HSK 4 words use 母?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 母 appears in 4 words, including 父母 (fùmǔ), 母女 (mǔnǚ), 母亲 (mǔqīn), 母子 (mǔzǐ). See the full list above.

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