ci1雌
Jyutpingci1
Yalechī
Definition
Female; relating to the female sex or gender.
neutralanimalsdescriptions
How it's used
Primarily used in biological and scientific contexts to distinguish sex in animals and plants. It sounds clinical or formal when applied to humans, where 女 or 女性 is preferred. It is almost always paired with 雄 to form a binary contrast.
Examples
This cat is female.
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using this to describe women in social settings, as it reduces a person to a biological specimen and sounds dehumanizing or rude.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
