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    Chinese Grammar

    Expressing 'male' with 男 (nán)

    Description & Modification

    Structure

    男 + Noun

    Explanation

    男 (nán) means 'male' and is used as an adjective or prefix to specify gender. It appears before nouns to indicate the masculine counterpart. For example, 男演员 means 'male actor' and 男生 means 'male student.'

    Examples

    • 班里的男同学比女同学多三个。

      Bān lǐ de nán tóngxué bǐ nǚ tóngxué duō sān gè.

      There are three more boys than girls in the class.

    • 这部电影的男主角演技很好。

      Zhè bù diànyǐng de nán zhǔjué yǎnjì hěn hǎo.

      The male lead in this movie acts very well.

    • 男生宿舍在校园的东边。

      Nánshēng sùshè zài xiàoyuán de dōngbiān.

      The boys' dormitory is on the east side of campus.

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    Expressing 'male' with 男 (nán) | Chinese Grammar