儿女
érnǔ · HSK 5
children
👦👧 儿 = son + 女 = woman/daughter; together: sons and daughters
儿 (ér) means son or child; 女 (nǔ/nǚ) means woman or daughter. Stacked together the compound literally reads son-and-daughter, a tidy cover term for one's children or young people of both sexes.
女 — pictograph of a kneeling woman
女 is a pictograph originating in oracle bone script, depicting a person kneeling with arms crossed in front, a posture associated with women in ancient China. Over time the form was simplified and squared off into the modern character. Its core meaning of 'woman' or 'female' has remained stable for over three thousand years.