女人
nǚrén
The Chinese word for woman is 女人 (nǚrén). Wiktionary also lists 婦女 / 妇女 (fùnǚ) and 女性 (nǚxìng).
Meaning: adult female person (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 女人 | nǚrén |
| 婦女 / 妇女 | fùnǚ |
| 女性 | nǚxìng |
| 女的 | nǚ de |
The term refers to an adult female person.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 女人 is composed of 女 (female) and 人 (person).
Which one should you use?
女人 is the most common, neutral way to refer to an individual adult female person in daily conversation. In contrast, 女性 is used in formal, biological or sociological contexts to refer to the female sex or women as a group. 女的 is a colloquial way to identify someone's gender, often used when the specific noun for 'woman' is omitted in casual speech. For younger individuals, 女孩子 translates to girl and is used for young women or girls in informal contexts, while 姑娘 is an endearing term for a young unmarried woman used in casual conversation.
How do you pronounce it?
nǚrén
Did you know?
- Adding 小姐 (Miss) after a woman's name is polite in Taiwan, but in some parts of mainland China, it can be a slang term for a sex worker.
- Many Chinese words with negative connotations, such as 'cunning' or 'jealous', contain the 女 radical, which reflects historical gender biases embedded in the language.
- In modern internet slang, the term 女神 (nǚshén), which literally means 'goddess', is frequently used to describe a woman who is exceptionally beautiful or an ideal partner.
Examples in context
- 女人很年轻。The woman is young.This sentence demonstrates the use of 女人 to describe age.Tatoeba #7772406 by jiangche, translation #2429367 by gone2bacolod
- 我是个女人。I'm a woman.This sentence shows how to identify oneself using 女人.Tatoeba #7774367 by jiangche, translation #1122514 by Shishir
- 她是個女人。She is a woman.This sentence shows how to identify another person using 女人.Tatoeba #9155259 by shou, translation #3127510 by PERCE_NEIGE
- 今天我在图书馆遇到了一个非常聪明的女人。Today, I met a very intelligent woman at the library.
- 这个机构致力于提高女性的权益。This organization is dedicated to improving women's rights.
- 妇女在社会中起着重要的作用。Women play an important role in society.
- 我的朋友圈里有几个很聪明的女孩子。I have a few really smart girls in my circle of friends.
- 请问姑娘，这附近有一家好吃的餐馆吗？Excuse me, miss. Is there a good restaurant nearby?
- 这位女士非常友好并且乐于助人。This lady is very friendly and helpful.
- 111 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Jiayi and Junjie are talking about a person they saw at the park.
- 佳怡 Jiayi你看到那个女人了吗？Nǐ kàndào nàge nǚrén le ma?Did you see that woman?
- 俊杰 Junjie没看到，她在做什么？Méi kàndào, tā zài zuò shénme?I didn't, what was she doing?
- 佳怡 Jiayi那个女人在喂鸽子。Nàge nǚrén zài wèi gēzi.That woman is feeding the pigeons.
- 俊杰 Junjie哦，我看到了。Ó, wǒ kàndào le.Oh, I see her.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “woman” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
