Chinese word

女子

Pronunciation

Pinyinnǚ zǐ

Meaning

  • nounwoman

Example

门口有两位女子在等车。mén kǒu yǒu liǎng wèi nǘ zǐ zài děng chē

There are two women waiting for the bus at the entrance.

Illustration for 女子 (woman)

More examples

地铁站口，一位年轻女子在发传单。dì tiě zhàn kǒu yí wèi nián qīng nǘ zǐ zài fā chuán dān

At the subway station entrance, a young woman is handing out flyers.

Core concept

A female person viewed as an individual within a neutral, formal category, covering both an adult woman and a girl.

Common phrases

  • 年轻女子nián qīng nǘ zǐ

    young woman

  • 女子队nǘ zǐ duì

    women's team

  • 女子学校nǘ zǐ xué xiào

    girls' school

Similar words

女性nǚ xìng: Women considered together as a sex or gender category.
女士nǚ shì: A courteous term used when referring to or speaking to a woman.
女人nǚ rén: A conversational term meaning an adult woman.
女孩nǚ hái: A term for a relatively young female person, from a girl to a young woman.

Definition in Chinese

指女性个体，常用于书面或正式语境，也可用于分组或标示，语气中性且规范。zhǐ nǚ xìng gè tǐ cháng yòng yú shū miàn huò zhèng shì yǔ jìng yě kě yòng yú fēn zǔ huò biāo shì yǔ qì zhōng xìng qiě guī fàn

Word origin

女子 (nǚzǐ, "woman") combines 女 (nǚ, "female") with 子 (zǐ, "person"), forming a compact term for a female individual that is especially useful in written and formal language.

Usage tips

  • For casual conversation, 女子 (nǚzǐ, "woman") can sound distant when used for a person nearby, while ordinary spoken terms usually feel more natural.

Other meanings

  • girlnoun
  • teenage girlnoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word