Japanese

Alternative forms

• 雄, 牡

Noun

オス ‎(romaji osu)

1. (biology, non-human) male

Usage notes

The term osu refers to male with regard to non-human organisms.

The katakana spelling is more common in biology contexts. Of the kanji spellings, 雄 appears to be somewhat more common.

Synonyms

• (human male): 男性 (だんせい) ‎(dansei)

Antonyms

• (non-human female): メス ‎(mesu)
• (human female): 女性 (じょせい) ‎(josei)

References

1. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9