男 — Kanji Meaning, Readings & Example Words (JLPT N5)
What it means
At its core, 男 simply means man or male. You'll meet it in two roles: standing alone as the noun 男 (おとこ, "a man"), and as a building block inside compound words about males — 男性 ("male, a man"), 男子 ("boy; men's"), 長男 ("eldest son"), and 次男 ("second son"). Whenever you spot 男 in a new word, you can safely bet it has something to do with being male, which gives you an instant head start on the meaning. Its natural partner is 女 (おんな, "woman"), and the two are almost always taught side by side.
Readings
| Type | Reading | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| kun'yomi | おとこ | 男 (a man), 男の子 (boy) |
| on'yomi | ダン | 男性 (male), 男子 (boy / men's) |
| on'yomi | ナン | 長男 (eldest son), 次男 (second son) |
Here's the rule of thumb that works for most kanji: the kun'yomi (おとこ) tends to appear when the kanji stands more or less alone, while an on'yomi (ダン or ナン) appears inside two-kanji compounds. So 男 by itself is おとこ, but 男性 is ダン. The one wrinkle to memorize for 男 is that family-rank words use ナン, not ダン — 長男 (ちょうなん) and 次男 (じなん). Learn those two as a small set and you've covered the tricky case.
Stroke order & radical
- Strokes: 7. Write the top part 田 first (the outer box, then the cross inside), then add 力 ("power") underneath.
- Radical: the radical of 男 is 田 (rice field). Picture someone putting their 力 (strength) to work in the 田 (field) — "power in the field" — which is the old image behind the kanji meaning a working man.
Seeing 田 and 力 stacked is your tip-off for the whole character: field on top, power below.
Common words using 男
Notice the reading split in action: the standalone 男 and the everyday 男の子 take おとこ, while the formal compounds 男性 and 男子 flip to ダン. Then the two "son" words — 長男 and 次男 — switch to ナン. That ナン reading is the one most learners forget, so give it extra attention.
Example sentences
あの男の人はヤッタンのお父さんです。
あの おとこの ひとは ヤッタンの おとうさんです。
That man is Yattan's father.
男 — the kun'yomi おとこ reading, used standing alone.
モチのクラスには男子が二十人います。
モチの クラスには だんしが にじゅうにん います。
There are twenty boys in Mochi's class.
男子 — the on'yomi ダン reading, in a compound.
先生は「ヤッタンは三人きょうだいの長男です」と言いました。
せんせいは「ヤッタンは さんにん きょうだいの ちょうなんです」と いいました。
Sensei said, Yattan is the eldest son of three siblings.
長男 — here 男 takes the second on'yomi ナン, the reading to watch out for.
Quick recap
- 男 = man / male; 7 strokes; built from 田 (field) + 力 (power) = "power in the field."
- おとこ when it stands alone (男, 男の子); ダン in formal compounds (男性, 男子).
- The "son" words use a third reading, ナン: 長男 (eldest son), 次男 (second son).
- Its natural pair is 女 (おんな, "woman") — learn them together.
Your turn
Choose the correct reading of 男 in each word.
Start the 5-question drill →Frequently asked questions
How do you read 男 in 男 vs 男性?
Alone it's the kun'yomi おとこ (男 = おとこ, 'a man'). In the compound 男性 it's the on'yomi ダン (男性 = だんせい, 'male'). As a rule, compounds take the on'yomi.
Why is 長男 read ちょうなん and not ちょうだん?
男 has two on'yomi. Family-rank words like 長男 (eldest son) and 次男 (second son) use ナン, while most other compounds such as 男性 and 男子 use ダン. It's worth memorizing the ナン words as a small set.
How many strokes does 男 have, and what's its radical?
男 has 7 strokes. Its radical is 田 (rice field), which sits on top of 力 (power) — the image of 'power in the field.'
What kanji is the opposite of 男?
男 (man) pairs with 女 (おんな, woman). They are almost always taught together, for example 男の子 (boy) and 女の子 (girl).