How to say "male" in Japanese

• おすJLPT N1approx.Common
  no-adjectiveThe word for male as a biological sex, used of animals and plants rather than people; usually written in kana, and the natural choice when saying that an animal is male.
  雄おすのくじゃくは尾おの羽毛うもうが色彩しきさい豊ゆたかである。↗

  The male peacock has colorful tail feathers.
• 男おとこJLPT N5approx.Common
  noun, noun (prefix)The plain word for a man, and for 'male' when speaking of a person; the everyday choice for an individual man, while for animals and plants the sex word おす is used instead.
  彼かれは多分たぶんよい男おとこであるかも知しれない。↗

  He may be a good man for all I know.
• 男性だんせいJLPT N4approx.Common
  no-adjectiveCovers 'man' and 'male', but treats the male sex as a category: the word you meet in forms, statistics and announcements, and when referring to males as a group.
  「一いち部屋へやに３人にんで泊とまっていただけますか」と彼かれはたずねました。「ええ、かまいませんよ」と３人にんの男性だんせいは答こたえました。↗

  He asked the men, "Would you share a room?" "Certainly, we will," answered the three men.
• 男子だんしJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounIn practice chiefly means boys or young males, or males as a category; for the plain sense of 'male', or for an adult man, it is seldom the word you want.
  そこらへんは、男子だんしと女子じょしとでは違ちがうんだってば。↗

  Obviously that's different for men and women.

Use 「おす」 for the sex of animals and plants, 男 for a man in everyday speech, 男性 when classifying or referring to males in writing or as a group, and 男子 mainly for boys or young males.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• おすmale (animal, plant)
• 男おとこman
• 男性だんせいman
• 雄おmale
• メールmale
• 雄ゆうmale
• 男子だんしman
• Ｍエムmale