TraceHanzi

男人 meaning in English

nánrén

a man; a male

HSK 1noun9 strokes

Meaning of 男人

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

nánrén
  1. a man
  2. a male
  3. men

Measure word: 個|个

How to use 男人

男人 is the everyday word for an adult man, often paired with 女人 (nǚrén, woman). It can sound a bit blunt in polite settings, where 男士 (nánshì) or 先生 (xiānsheng) are more courteous. Example: 那个男人是我的老师。(Nà ge nánrén shì wǒ de lǎoshī.) That man is my teacher.

男 (nán) is made of 田 (field) on top of 力 (strength), so picture a person using strength in the field. Add 人 (rén, person) and you get 男人, a male person.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 男 (nán) with 另 (lìng, other), since both have 力 at the bottom. Remember that 男 has a full field 田 on top, while 另 has a small 口.

男人 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

那nà个ge看kàn着zhe你nǐ的de男nán人rén，你nǐ认rèn识shí吗ma ?
That man who is looking at you, do you know him?
我wǒ认rèn识shí坐zuò在zài那nà里lǐ的de那nà个ge男nán人rén。
I know the man sitting over there.
你nǐ见jiàn过guò这zhè张zhāng照zhào片piān上shàng的de男nán人rén吗ma？
Have you ever seen the man in this photo?
这zhè个ge男nán人rén在zài说shuō什shén么me？
What is the man saying?
他tā是shì个gè能néng干gàn的de男nán人rén。
He's a man of ability.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

男 nán · male · 7 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7

人 rén · person · 2 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2

Related words

Words that share a character with 男人.

女人nǚrénwoman
别人biérénother people; others; other person
家人jiārénfamily member; (old) servant
病人bìngrénsick person; patient
男朋友nánpéngyouboyfriend
工人gōngrénworker
男生nánshēngschoolboy; male student
老人lǎorénold man or woman; the elderly
男孩儿nánháirerhua form of 男孩[nan2 hai2]
有人yǒu rénsomeone; people
人们rénmenpeople
大人dàrenadult; grownup

Questions about 男人

What does 男人 mean?

男人 (nánrén) means "a man; a male" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 男人?

男人 is made of 2 characters: 男 (7 strokes), 人 (2 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.

Is 男人 an HSK word?

Yes. 男人 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 男人 and 男生?

男生 (nánshēng) usually refers to boys or young men, especially students, and sounds younger and more casual. 男人 refers to adult men in general.

Can 男 be used alone as an adjective?

Yes, 男 can mark gender before a noun, as in 男老师 (nán lǎoshī, male teacher) or 男朋友 (nánpéngyou, boyfriend). On forms, 男 alone means male.

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