Meaning of 女士
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- lady
- madam
- Miss
- Ms
Measure word: 個|个,位
How to use 女士
女士 is a formal, polite term used in speeches, announcements, letters, and customer service. It often follows a surname, like Ms or Madam in English. Example: 王女士，请这边走。(Wáng nǚshì, qǐng zhèbiān zǒu.) Ms Wang, this way please.
女 (nǚ) means woman, and 士 (shì) is a respectful word for a person of standing, as in 博士 (bóshì, doctor). Put them together and you get a polite way to address a woman: a lady.
Common mistake: Learners often say 女士 in casual chat with friends, where it sounds stiff. Use 女生 (nǚshēng) or 女孩儿 (nǚháir) for girls and young women in everyday talk. Also remember that 女 has the ü sound, so it is nǚ, not nǔ.
女士 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
女 nǚ · female · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
士 shì · scholar · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 女士.
Questions about 女士
What does 女士 mean?
女士 (nǚshì) means "lady; madam" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 女士?
女士 is made of 2 characters: 女 (3 strokes), 士 (3 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.
Is 女士 an HSK word?
Yes. 女士 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say ladies and gentlemen in Chinese?
The standard phrase is 女士们，先生们 (nǚshìmen, xiānshengmen). Chinese puts ladies first, just like English.
Does 女士 show whether a woman is married?
No. 女士 works for any adult woman, like Ms in English. 小姐 (xiǎojiě) is closer to Miss, but it can sound awkward in some contexts, so 女士 is the safer polite choice.