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What is the Kanji for 'Female'? | 雌

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for 'Female', you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for 'Female' is 雌.

    kanji

    Meaning

    Female

    Reading

    kunyomi

    me

    めす

    mesu

    めん

    men

    onyomi

    shi

    Parts

    Bird

    Example Word

    雌: female. The Japanese noun '雌 (めす)' refers to the female of a species, particularly in animals. It is commonly used to distinguish the sex of animals, such as in '雌の猫 (めすのねこ)' meaning 'female cat'. This term is often used in biological contexts or when specifying the gender of animals. For example: That is a female bird「あれは雌の鳥です」(あれはめすのとりです). The female dog is gentle「雌の犬はおとなしい」(めすのいぬはおとなしい). Note that '雌' is less commonly used for humans; instead, '女性 (じょせい)' is preferred when referring to female humans.

    Radical

    Stroke Count

    14

    JLPT

    N1

    Grade

    7

    Frequency

    1924

    Handwriting

Parts of the Kanji

If you visually break down this kanji, you can see it is made up of 2 parts:

    component

    radical

    Meaning

    Bird

Words Using

This kanji is used in 1 word:

    word

    Meaning

    Female

Kanji Related to Through the Part

These 21 kanji contain the part 隹 as well.

    kanji

    Meaning

    Advance

    kanji

    Meaning

    Gather

    kanji

    Meaning

    Miscellaneous

    kanji

    Meaning

    Certain

    kanji

    Meaning

    View

    kanji

    Meaning

    Infer

    kanji

    Meaning

    Employ, Hire

    kanji

    Meaning

    Detach, Separate

    kanji

    Meaning

    Rejoice, Delight

    kanji

    Meaning

    Young, Immature

    kanji

    Meaning

    Fiber, Maintain

    kanji

    Meaning

    Char, Scorch

    kanji

    Meaning

    Urge, Recommend

    kanji

    Meaning

    Only, Solely

    kanji

    Meaning

    Approve, Semi

    kanji

    Meaning

    Male, Heroic

    kanji

    Meaning

    Elegance, Elegant

    kanji

    Meaning

    One of a pair, Ship counter

    kanji

    Meaning

    Who

    kanji

    Meaning

    Piled high

    kanji

    Meaning

    Oak tree, Oak

Learn the Kanji

Let's make sure you fully understand this kanji.

What does 雌 mean?

雌 means 'Female'.

Japanese school students learn this kanji in Junior Highschool, while non-native learners often study it for the JLPT N1 exam.

To help you master this kanji, here's an interactive lesson where you'll practice its readings and meanings.