(1) female, male用来指人、动物、植物的性别。
- A female fox is called a vixen.
一只雌性狐狸被叫做vixen(雌狐)。 - I spent two years working as a male nurse.
我做了两年的男护士。
(2) feminine(女子气的,娇柔的),masculine(男性的,男子气概的),用来说人的气质或行为像女子和男子的。
- She has a very masculine laugh.
她笑起来很有男子气概。 - The letter was addressed in a feminine handwriting.
这信的地址是用女子的笔迹写的。
(3) feminine, masculine也用来指某些语言中的语法形式,表示阴性和阳性。
- The word for “moon” is feminine in French and masculine in German.
“moon”这个词在法语里是阴性,在德语里是阳性。