男人
The Cantonese word for man is 男人.
男人 is used to refer to an adult male human. While 男人 is a noun, the character 男 can be used as an adjective to denote the male gender, such as in the word 男生 for a boy or male student.
Meaning: adult male human (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 男人 consists of 男, meaning male and 人, meaning person.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In parts of Guangdong province in mainland China, the term 男仔 is used to refer to a young man or boy.
Did you know?
- In Cantonese, the character 男 is composed of the radicals for 'field' and 'power', historically reflecting the idea that a 'man' was someone who exerted strength in agricultural work.
- In street slang, calling a man 死佬 (dead man/old man) is a highly derogatory way to refer to an older man or a man one is frustrated with. It is much more aggressive than simply saying someone is an 'old man'.
- To describe a 'manly man', Cantonese uses the term 有男人味, which literally means 'having a man smell' or 'man scent'.
Examples in context
- 個男人好老。The man is old.This sentence shows how to describe an old 男人.Tatoeba #1692191 by kaenif, translation #1174867 by CK
- 有個男人開門走咗出嚟。The door opened and a man came out.This sentence describes a 男人 coming through a door.Tatoeba #402892 by nickyeow, translation #516998 by CK
- 坐喺角落頭嗰個男人係邊個嚟㗎？Who is the man sitting in the corner?This sentence is used to ask about the identity of a 男人 sitting in a corner.Tatoeba #415704 by nickyeow, translation #51504 by CK
- 這位先生很有禮貌。This gentleman is very polite.
- 呢個仔好有型呀！This guy looks really stylish!
- 老友，一齊出去食飯啦！Hey buddy, let's go have a meal together!
- 這位先生好有風度喎。This gentleman has great style.
- 42 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ka Ming and Chiu Tung are walking in a park.
- 家明 Ka Ming嗰個男人喺度做緊運動。go2 go3 naam4 jan4 hai2 dou6 zou6 jan6 wan6.That man is exercising there.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung係唔係好壯實呀？hai6 m4 hai6 hou2 zoong3 sat6 aa3?Is he very strong?
- 家明 Ka Ming係呀，個男人身材好好。hai6 aa3, go3 naam4 jan4 san1 coi1 hou2 hou2.Yes, the man has a very good physique.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung睇嚟佢好勤力呀。tai2 lai4 keoi5 hou2 kan4 lik6 aa3.It looks like he is very hardworking.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “man” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
