男性

nán xìng

man; male; masculinity

HSK Level 5

Example Sentences

这个男性很帅。

Zhège nánxìng hěn shuài.

This man is handsome.

男性通常比女性强壮。

Nánxìng tōngcháng bǐ nǚxìng qiángzhuàng.

Men are usually stronger than women.

男性和女性都有自己的优势和劣势。

Nánxìng hé nǚxìng dōu yǒu zìjǐ de yōushì hé lièshì.

Men and women both have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Synonyms

男人 (nán rén)

man

男士 (nán shì)

gentleman

Antonyms

女性 (nǚxìng)

female

女人 (nǚrén)

woman

Start Learning with HSK Tracker

Track your progress, master characters, and achieve your Chinese language goals.

Get Started Free
HSK Tracker Preview

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 男性 (nánxìng) for "male" is composed of two characters: 男 (nán), meaning "male", and 性 (xìng), meaning "nature" or "gender". The character 男 is a pictograph depicting a man standing with his arms outstretched, while the character 性 is a combination of the characters 女 (nǚ), meaning "woman", and 生 (shēng), meaning "to give birth". Together, the two characters 男 and 性 form the word 男性, which literally means "male nature" or "male gender". This term is used to refer to men in general, as well as to the male sex or gender.