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道Nihongo Path
娘

娘·daughter, girl

On-yomi
none
Kun-yomi
むすめ

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Stroke order

Write it in this order; the numbers mark where each stroke starts.

10 strokes, numbered in writing order. Data: KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Common words

WordReadingMeaning
娘むすめ(my) daughter; a young woman
娘さんむすめさん(your) daughter
一人娘ひとりむすめonly daughter
末娘すえむすめyoungest daughter

Example sentences

  1. 娘は今年、高校生になりました。

    むすめはことし、こうこうせいになりました。

    My daughter started high school this year.

  2. 隣の娘さんは大学生です。

    となりのむすめさんはだいがくせいです。

    The daughter next door is a university student.

  3. 彼女は一人娘として育てられた。

    かのじょはひとりむすめとしてそだてられた。

    She was raised as an only daughter.

Similar-looking kanji

Do not confuse these on the exam.

Common mistakes

  • Your own daughter is 娘; someone else's is 娘さん or お嬢さん
  • 娘 can mean "young woman" in general, but used of an adult it sounds old-fashioned

Memory aid

Picture it

女 (woman) beside 良 (good) — the family's good girl, the daughter.

Vocabulary using this kanji

Quick check

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What does the kanji 娘 mean?