女士

Chinese

		female; woman; daughter	scholar; warrior; knight
trad. (女士)		女	士
simp. #(女士)		女	士
alternative forms		女仕
anagram		士女

Etymology

Originally, the combination was close to the literal meaning, i.e., a female 士 (shì, “person from higher, educated social stratum”), a woman whose character, upbringing, and conduct matched those expected of the 士 class. For example, in the Shijing (《詩·大雅·既醉》):

釐爾女士，從以孫子。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

釐尔女士，从以孙子。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Lí ěr nǚshì, cóng yǐ sūnzǐ. [Pinyin]

There is given you a heroic wife,
And from her shall come [the line of] descendants.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Since when has it been used as a title? Can we find early attestations of the usage?”)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): nǚshì

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄩˇ ㄕˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): neoi⁵ si⁶

• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): ńg-sṳ
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): lú-sū / lír-sǐr / lí-sū

  (Teochew, Peng'im): neng² se⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: nǚshì
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄩˇ ㄕˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: nyǔshìh
    • Wade–Giles: nü³-shih⁴
    • Yale: nyǔ-shr̀
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: neushyh
    • Palladius: нюйши (njujši)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ny²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 女士 女式

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: neoi⁵ si⁶
    • Yale: néuih sih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: noey⁵ si⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: nêu⁵ xi⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nɵy̯¹³ siː²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ńg-sṳ
    • Hakka Romanization System: ng^ˋ sii
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ng³ si⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /ŋ̍³¹ sɨ⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Kaohsiung)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lú-sū
    • Tâi-lô: lú-sū
    • Phofsit Daibuun: lwsu
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lu⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ su³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /lu⁵³⁻⁴⁴ su²²/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lír-sǐr
    • Tâi-lô: lír-sǐr
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /lɯ⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ sɯ²²/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Taipei, Yilan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lí-sū
    • Tâi-lô: lí-sū
    • Phofsit Daibuun: lysu
    • IPA (Yilan): /li⁵³⁻⁵⁵ su³³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /li⁵³⁻⁴⁴ su³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /li⁵³⁻⁴⁴ su²²/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: neng² se⁶
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: nṳ́ng sṳ̆
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nɯŋ⁵²⁻³⁵ sɯ³⁵/

Noun

女士

1. lady
2. Ms.; Miss

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “lady”): 男士 (nánshì)
• (antonym(s) of “Miss”): (Guangzhou Cantonese, dated) 姑娘 (gu1 noeng4)

Derived terms

• 女士優先／女士优先 (nǚshì yōuxiān)

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (女士):

• → Vietnamese: nữ sĩ (女士)

See also

• 婦女／妇女 (fùnǚ)
• 女的 (nǚde)
• 女子 (nǚzǐ)
• 姑娘 (gūniang)
• 女孩 (nǚhái)
• 女性 (nǚxìng)