男
- Meaning: man, male
- Pronunciations: dan, nan / otoko
“男” is a combination of “田” and ”力”. The Kanji “田” means “rice field” “rice farmland” while the word “力” came from the shape of a plough, a farming tool which turned into the meaning “power”. So “男” means “the one who ploughs the fields with a plough”.
In ancient times, the word “男” was used to describe the manager of a group of farmers, but later it came to mean “man (men)” who cultivate the land.
- 男女（だんじょ）: danjo, men and women
- 男性（だんせい）: dansei, man or men as a gender / male
- 男物（おとこもの）: otokomono, cloth or wear for men
若い男性でした。
Wakai dansei deshita.
It was a young man.
男物の靴はどこですか？
Otokomono no kutsu wa doko desuka?
Where are the men’s shoes?
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