男 meaning in English
(bound form) male; baron, the lowest of the five ranks of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4]
Meaning of 男
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (bound form) male
- baron, the lowest of the five ranks of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4]
How to use 男
男 is a bound form, so it usually appears inside words like 男人 (nánrén), 男生 (nánshēng), and 男朋友 (nánpéngyou) rather than standing alone. On its own it shows up on signs and forms, such as restrooms or a gender box. Example: 他是我的男朋友。(Tā shì wǒ de nánpéngyou.) He is my boyfriend.
男 (nán) is made of 田 (tián, field) on top and 力 (lì, strength) below. Picture someone putting strength into working the field, and you have the character for male.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 他是男 to mean "he is a man," but 男 is a bound form, so say 他是男人 or 他是男生 instead. Also watch the tone: nán is second tone, rising, and should not be confused with 难 (nán, difficult), which sounds the same but means something different.
男 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.
男 nán · male · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 男.
Questions about 男
What does 男 mean?
男 (nán) means "(bound form) male; baron, the lowest of the five ranks of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4]" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 男?
男 is made of 1 character: 男 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 男 an HSK word?
Yes. 男 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 男人 and 男生?
男人 (nánrén) means a man in general, usually an adult. 男生 (nánshēng) originally means a male student, but in everyday speech it is also used casually for young men and boys.
Does 男 have any meaning besides male?
Yes. In historical contexts 男 means baron, the lowest of the five ranks of nobility, called 五等爵位 (wǔ děng juéwèi). You will mostly see this in history texts, not daily conversation.