xìng bié
sex; gender
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我的性别是男性。
Wǒ de xìngbié shì nánxìng.
My gender is male.
她的性别是女性。
Tā de xìngbié shì nǚxìng.
Her gender is female.
你是什么性别？
Nǐ shì shénme xìngbié?
What is your gender?
性别 (xìngbié)
gender
性 (xìng)
sex
男 (nán)
male
女 (nǚ)
female
The Chinese word 性别 (xìngbié) for "gender" is composed of two characters: 性 (xìng) and 别 (bié). The character 性 originally meant "nature" or "inborn quality", and was later extended to mean "sex" or "gender". The character 别 originally meant "to distinguish" or "to separate", and was later used to refer to "difference" or "distinction". When combined, the two characters 性别 literally mean "distinction of nature" or "difference in nature", which is a fitting term for the concept of gender.
