Japanese kanji 男: man

The idea

男 has 7 strokes. Follow the order in the linked KanjiVG diagram. Compare 男の人（おとこのひと）, “man”, with 男性（だんせい）, “man; male”. A character may be read differently from word to word; learn each word as a unit.

Examples

• 男おとこの人ひとが駅えきにいます。There is a man at the station.
• 男おとこの子こが公園こうえんで遊あそんでいます。The boy is playing in the park.
• あの男性だんせいは先生せんせいです。That man is a teacher.
• 男おとこの人ひとが水みずを飲のみます。The man drinks water.
• 長男ちょうなんは大学生だいがくせいです。My eldest son is a university student.
• 男おとこの子こは本ほんを読よんでいます。The boy is reading a book.

Watch out

男の人 is a common everyday expression; 男性 is more formal. 男 alone can sound blunt when referring to a person. Compare the shape of 男 with 田; notice how their components differ.

Try it yourself

1. Write the reading of 男の人 (man) in hiragana.

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   おとこのひと

   男の人 is read おとこのひと and means “man”. Remember the reading as part of the whole word.

2. Write the reading of 男性 (man; male) in hiragana.

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   だんせい

   男性 is read だんせい and means “man; male”. Remember the reading as part of the whole word.

3. Fill in the missing kanji: ＿の子（おとこのこ）.

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   男

   男 completes 男の子（おとこのこ）, meaning “boy”.

4. Which word means “boy”? Write the whole word using kanji: 男の子 or 男性.

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   男の子

   男の子 is read おとこのこ and means “boy”. Remember the reading as part of the whole word. 男性 instead means “man; male”.

Use it today

Write 男 three times following the linked stroke diagram. Cover the table, read 男の人 and 男性 aloud, and then check their readings and meanings.