男
male; man
nán
What does 男 mean?
男 (nán) means 'male' — used as a modifier rather than a standalone noun. By itself it doesn't really mean 'a man'; instead it attaches to other characters to form gendered nouns: 男人 (nán rén, 'man'), 男孩 (nán hái, 'boy'), 男生 (nán shēng, 'male student / guy'), 男朋友 (nán péngyou, 'boyfriend'). On signs and forms, 男 is the standard label for the male side: men's restroom doors say 男, gender boxes on a form list 男 / 女. The character itself is built from 田 (tián, 'field') on top and 力 (lì, 'strength') on the bottom — historically 'one who applies strength in the field,' i.e., a man's traditional farming role. The female counterpart is 女 (nǚ). Don't say 一个男 to mean 'a man' — say 一个男人 or 一个男的 (yí ge nán de, colloquial 'a guy').
Character breakdown
male (田 'field' on top + 力 'strength' on bottom — strength in the field)
Memory hook: 男 = 田 (field) + 力 (strength). The one who works the field with strength = male.
Example sentences
他是一个男的。
Tā shì yí ge nán de.
He is a guy.
spoken
我有一个男朋友。
Wǒ yǒu yí ge nán péngyou.
I have a boyfriend.
spoken
这个班有十个男生。
Zhège bān yǒu shí ge nán shēng.
This class has ten male students.
neutral
男厕所在那边。
Nán cèsuǒ zài nà biān.
The men's restroom is over there.
neutral
她有两个孩子，一个男孩，一个女孩。
Tā yǒu liǎng ge háizi, yí ge nán hái, yí ge nǚ hái.
She has two children, a boy and a girl.
spoken
Common phrases with 男
Synonyms
男的 is the casual spoken way to say 'the male one / a guy' — turning the modifier 男 into a noun phrase. 男 alone can't stand as a noun; 男的 fills that role in conversation.
男性 is the formal word for 'male / male gender,' used in surveys, medical contexts, and writing. 男 is the everyday modifier; 男性 is the abstract noun.
Don't confuse 男 with
南 (nán) means 'south' — same pronunciation and tone as 男 but completely different character. 南方 = 'the south'; 男人 = 'man.' One of the most common HSK 2 same-sound pairs.
难 (nán) means 'difficult.' Same pronunciation as 男 but different meaning. 很难 = 'very difficult'; 男人 = 'man.'
女 (nǚ) is the opposite — 'female.' 男 and 女 always appear together on signs (restrooms, gender boxes). The shapes are easy to remember: 男 has the 'field + strength' build, 女 looks like a person with crossed legs.