Chinese edit

female; woman; daughter sex; nature; suffix corresponding to ‑ness or ‑ity
trad. (女性)
simp. #(女性)

Pronunciation edit


Noun edit

女性

  1. (often attributive) the female sex; female
    女性衛生用品女性卫生用品  ―  nǚxìng wèishēng yòngpǐn  ―  feminine hygiene products
  2. woman; female
    月經期女性月经期女性  ―  yuèjīngqī nǚxìng  ―  menstruating women

Antonyms edit

Derived terms edit

See also edit

Japanese edit

Etymology 1 edit

Kanji in this term
じょ
Grade: 1
せい
Grade: 5
on’yomi

Spelling repurposed from nyoshō below during the Meiji period (1868–1912), using the relatively newer kan'on readings of the characters.[1]

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

(じょ)(せい) (joseiぢよせい (dyosei)? (counter )

  1. a woman (adult female person)
    • 1993 December 15 [1990 March 25], Sasaki, Noriko, (どう)(ぶつ)のお()(しゃ)さん ((どう)(ぶつ)のお()(しゃ)さん), 36th edition, volume 3 (fiction), Tokyo: Hakusensha, →ISBN, page 19:
      (とし)(ごろ)(じょ)(せい)()(ぶん)(ちょう)なんか()ていていいのだろうか
      Toshigoro no josei ga jibun no chō nan ka mite ite ii no darō ka
      Is it okay for a woman of marriageable age to stare at her own guts?
    • 1999 August 26, “(たん)(じょう)(てん)使()”, in BOOSTER 4, Konami:
      (じょ)(せい)のおなかに(いのち)宿(やど)った(こと)()らせてくれると()われている。
      Josei no onaka ni inochi ga yadotta koto o shirasete kureru to iwarete iru.
      Legend has it that it can tell you when a woman gets with child.
    • 2000 January 27, “アルラウネ [Alraune]”, in Vol.7, Konami:
      (はな)(なか)(じょ)(せい)(どく)()(ふん)をまき()らす。(ちか)づいてはいけない。
      Hana no naka no josei ga doku kafun o makichirasu. Chikazuite wa ikenai.
      A flower-dwelling woman who spreads poisonous pollen. Never get anywhere near her.
    • 2015 March 10 [2014 December 10], Yūji Shiozaki, “第百五拾参話 [Chapter 153]”, in 一騎当千, 2nd edition, volume 23 (fiction), Tokyo: Wani Books:
      これ(こう)(ふく)()学園処分する理由出来まし 多勢一人女性暴行した重くその償い
      Kore de Kōfukuji Gakuen o shobun suru riyū ga dekimashita Tazei de hitori no josei o bōkō shita tsumi wa omoku… Sono tsugunai wa shi
      I now have a justification to dispose of Kōfukuji Academy. Ganging up on a lone woman, that shall not go unpunished… And the punishment is death.
  2. (biology, grammar) the feminine gender
Synonyms edit
Antonyms edit
See also edit

Etymology 2 edit

Kanji in this term
にょ
Grade: 1
しょう
Grade: 5
on’yomi

Borrowed from Middle Chinese 女性 (MC nrjoX sjengH, “woman; female + character; gender”). The goon, so likely the initial borrowing.[1]

Largely superseded in everyday Japanese by josei above.[1]

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

(にょ)(しょう) (nyoshōによしやう (nyosyau)?

  1. (rare, dated) a woman
Synonyms edit

References edit

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 3.0 3.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
  4. 4.0 4.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  • 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.

Korean edit

Hanja in this term

Noun edit

女性 (yeoseong) (hangeul 여성)

  1. Hanja form? of 여성 (woman).

Vietnamese edit

chữ Hán Nôm in this term

Adjective edit

女性

  1. chữ Hán form of nữ tính (feminine).