Meaning of 性别
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- sex; gender
How to use 性别
性别 is a formal, neutral noun you will see on forms, ID cards and surveys, often next to 姓名 (name) and 年龄 (age). Example: 请填写你的性别。(Qǐng tiánxiě nǐ de xìngbié.) Please fill in your gender.
性 (xìng) means nature or inborn quality, and 别 (bié) means to tell apart, as in 区别 (qūbié). Together, 性别 is the natural quality that tells people apart: sex or gender.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 性 (xìng) alone to mean gender, but 性 by itself usually means sex in the sexual sense, so say 性别 when you mean gender. Also keep the tones straight: xìngbié is fourth tone then second tone, not xīngbié.
性别 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.
性 xìng · nature · 8 strokes
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别 bié · to leave · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 性别.
| 别人 | biérén | other people; others; other person |
| 别的 | biéde | else; other |
| 特别 | tèbié | unusual; special; very; especially; particularly |
| 区别 | qūbié | difference; to distinguish |
| 性格 | xìnggé | nature; disposition |
| 分别 | fēnbié | to part; to leave each other; to distinguish; to tell apart |
| 告别 | gàobié | to leave; to part from; to bid farewell to; to say goodbye to |
| 个性 | gèxìng | individuality; personality |
| 积极性 | jījíxìng | zeal; initiative |
| 性质 | xìngzhì | nature; characteristic |
| 个别 | gèbié | individually; one by one; just one or two; exceptional; rare |
| 女性 | nǚxìng | woman; the female sex |
Questions about 性别
What does 性别 mean?
性别 (xìngbié) means "sex; gender" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 性别?
性别 is made of 2 characters: 性 (8 strokes), 别 (7 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 性别 an HSK word?
Yes. 性别 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 性别 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 性别 is written 性別.
How do I say male and female when filling in 性别?
On forms you write 男 (nán) for male and 女 (nǚ) for female. For example, 性别：男 means Gender: male.
How do I ask someone's gender politely?
In daily speech people rarely ask directly, but on official occasions you can say 您的性别是？(Nín de xìngbié shì?) What is your gender? For a baby, people usually ask 是男孩还是女孩？(Shì nánhái háishi nǚhái?) Is it a boy or a girl?