男 (nán) means "male" with HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: male
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
Oracle bone and bronze forms are a clear compound of 田 (field) above and 力 (which itself depicted a plough or a muscular arm) below. The character shows a person working the fields with a plough, encoding the ancient division of agricultural labour. It is one of the oldest and most transparent compound characters.
Form evolution
The field-over-plough arrangement is already stable on oracle bones and survives unchanged through bronze, seal, and clerical scripts. The only real changes are the regularisation of 田 into a clean grid and the straightening of 力 from a curved plough shape into the modern two-stroke form. Modern 男 is structurally identical to the seal version.
How the meaning evolved
The original sense was specifically 'a man who works the fields', and by extension 'adult male'. In early feudal contexts it also denoted a specific rank of nobility, the lowest of the five classical titles, roughly equivalent to 'baron'. Modern Mandarin has dropped the noble-rank sense in everyday speech and uses 男 straightforwardly for 'male' in contrast to 女.
Cultural note
The labour-role origin is why 男 literally reads as 'strength in the field', which some feminist readings point to as evidence of how early script encoded gender roles. The noble-rank sense survives in historical writing about the five ranks 公侯伯子男 (duke, marquis, count, viscount, baron).
Basic info
Example sentences
他是男的。
Tā shì nán de.
He is male.
From 男 (HSK 1)
Words containing 男
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 男 | nán | male | HSK 1 |
On the new HSK 1 exam
Studying for HSK 1? Keep 男 with the rest of your level.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.