Chinese word

女士

Pronunciation

Pinyinnǚ shì

Meaning

  • nounlady

Example

那位女士请坐。nà wèi nǚ shì qǐng zuò

That lady, please have a seat.

Illustration for 女士 (lady)

More examples

门口写着“女士优先”。mén kǒu xiě zhe nǚ shì yōu xiān

The sign at the entrance says "Ladies first."

Core concept

A polite social label for an adult woman, suitable when courtesy matters more than familiarity.

Common phrases

  • 那位女士nà wèi nǚ shì

    that lady

  • 女士优先nǚ shì yōu xiān

    ladies first

Similar words

小姐xiáo jiě: A way to address a young or unmarried woman that can sound casual in some settings.
太太tài tài: A title for a married woman, often placed after her husband's surname.
女性nǚ xìng: A neutral, relatively formal term for a woman or women, common in written language.
女人nǚ rén: An everyday, direct term for an adult woman.

Definition in Chinese

对成年女性的尊称，常用于正式或礼貌场合，既可置于姓氏之后（如“王女士”）也可单独称呼。duì chéng nián nǚ xìng de zūn chēng cháng yòng yú zhèng shì huò lǐ mào chǎng hé jì kě zhì yú xìng shì zhī hòu rú wáng nǚ shì yě kě dān dú chēng hū

Word origin

女 (nǚ, "female") + 士 (shì, "honored person") combines a female reference with an older respectful term to create a formal title.

Usage tips

  • English lady can carry literary or old-fashioned associations, whereas this Chinese title mainly signals formal courtesy in public communication.

Other meanings

  • womannoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word