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男生 (nán shēng) — male student, schoolboy; (colloquial) young man, guy

Definition

男生 usually means 'male student / schoolboy' in school contexts; in casual speech it can also mean a young man. 男孩儿 is a child, and 男子 is a more formal word for an adult male.

noun
male studentschoolboy(colloquial) young manguy
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 男生。
    Bān lǐ yǒu yí gè xīn nán shēng.
    There is a new male student in the class.
  • 男生。
    Nà ge nán shēng shuō huà hěn yǒu qù.
    That guy speaks very interestingly.
  • 男生。
    Zhè ge nán shēng xué xí hěn nǔ lì.
    This male student studies very hard.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

男nánmale
生shēngstudent

男 contributes male and 生 contributes student, giving a male student or boy.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

男 is made from 田, a field, and 力, strength. It shows a man working with strength in a field.

Open 男 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →
Appears in
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