(nǚ wáng) - queen (a reigning queen), queen regnant in Mandarin
nǚwángTraditional: 女王
Translation
queen (a reigning queen), queen regnant
Word origin
A compound of 女 (nǚ, woman) and 王 (wáng, king), formed to name a woman who rules in her own right.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 女 (nǚ, woman) + 王 (wáng, king)
Stroke order
女
王
Examples
。
The Queen of England lives in London.
。
That queen reigned for many years.
。
She walked into the room like a queen.
。
The children read about a queen in the book.
群。
The queen waved to the crowd.
女王 is a queen who rules: Elizabeth II, Victoria, the queen in a fairy tale who sits on the throne herself. The key word is 王, king, with 女 marking that the monarch is a woman.
A king's wife is not a 女王. She is a 王后 (wánghòu), and mixing the two is the standard learner error. The rule is simple: 女王 holds the crown, 王后 married the person who does. A 公主 (gōngzhǔ) is a princess, and an empress in the Chinese imperial sense is 皇后 or 女皇.
Figuratively 女王 works much as it does in English, for a woman who commands a room or dominates a field, and it also names the queen bee, 蜂王. It is not used as a form of address to an ordinary person.
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女王: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "女王" (queen (a reigning queen), queen regnant): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 42.