男性
nánxìng/nän³⁵ ɕiŋ⁵¹/
In Chinese, the English phrase 'male' is translated as 男性 (nánxìng).
男性 is used as a noun to refer to a human of the masculine sex or gender. Related adjectives for 'male' include 男, 公 and 雄.
Meaning: human of masculine sex or gender (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 男性 is composed of 男 (male) and 性 (sex, gender or nature), literally meaning 'male sex'.
Which one should you use?
While 男 (nán) can mean 'male' or 'man' in many contexts, 男性 is a more formal and precise term for the biological or social category of 'male'. Its counterpart is 女性 (female). Additionally, in forms or checklists, such as gender markers on a document, the single character 男 is often used instead of the full word 男性.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Cantonese, the term for 'male' is 男.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is nánxìng. The IPA is /nän³⁵ ɕiŋ⁵¹/.
Did you know?
- In certain traditional contexts, 男 is paired with 女 to create the character 好, which means 'good'.
- In traditional Chinese medicine, the concept of 'male' is often associated with 阳 (yang), representing the sun, heat and active energy.
- The character 男 (male) is composed of two parts: a symbol for 'field' (田) on top of a symbol for 'strength' or 'power' (力). This ancient visual logic suggests that a man is one who uses strength in the fields.
Examples in context
- 小櫻喜歡男性的注意。Skura liked male attention.This sentence is useful for seeing how to describe 'male attention' using 男性.Tatoeba #13138972 by LeviHighway, translation #9768673 by Amastan
- 女人喜歡男性的注意。Women like male attention.This sentence shows how to express 'women like male attention' using 男性.Tatoeba #13138973 by LeviHighway, translation #9084907 by Amastan
- 有些人说日本是个男性统治的社会。Some people say Japan is a male-dominated society.This sentence illustrates the use of 'male-dominated' in a societal context using 男性.Tatoeba #9974946 by GlossaMatik, translation #1096366 by CK
- 他是一位成熟的男性。He is a mature male.
- 这是一个有责任心的男人。He is a responsible man.
- 来看一下那个男孩子在做什么。Come and see what that boy is doing.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Xiaowen and Junjie are discussing a medical study.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen这项研究的参与者必须是男性。Zhè xiàng yánjiū de cānyùzhě bìxū shì nánxìng.The participants of this study must be male.
- 俊杰 Junjie为什么只有男性可以参加？Wèishéme zhǐyǒu nánxìng kěyǐ cānjiā?Why can only males participate?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen因为这个疾病主要影响男性。Yīnwèi zhège jíbìng zhǔyào yǐngxiǎng nánxìng.Because this disease mainly affects males.
- 俊杰 Junjie我明白了，这很有意思。Wǒ míngbái le, zhè hěn yǒu yìsi.I see, that is very interesting.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “male” translations and entries 男性, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
