<p>男子汉 means a manly guy, a strong man, or a courageous fighter.</p>

<p>The grammar doesn't seem natural in Chinese. It actually originated in a foreign language and borrowed to Chinese. Here is some text about its origin:</p>

<p>据考证称呼成年男子为男子汉起源于汉武帝时代，众所周知自汉高祖刘邦白登被围后，西汉政权对北主的匈奴一直采取的和亲战略，因此匈奴人对汉人十分瞧不起，到武帝时期经过前几代皇帝的休养生息，西汉国力强盛，士卒训练有素，在汉武帝的命令下，西汉军队在卫青、霍去病两位将军的带领下，与北方的匈奴展开了激烈的战争，经过数次大战终于打败了强大的匈奴，当时的汉朝军队士兵战斗力强悍，在对战中经常以一敌二或敌三，死战不退，一扫有汉以来匈奴人对汉人的蔑视态度，因此从那时起匈奴人对汉朝士兵的称呼即为“汉儿”、“男儿汉”，此称呼后来传回中原，风靡一时，后来人们逐渐对成年男子即用男子汉称呼。 </p>

<p>It can be used for people of any ethnicity in China (not just 汉族，but also 满族、蒙古族, etc). So foreigners can also use the word without any problem.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-24T14:17:44.793Z
2015-05-24T14:17:44.793Z
Danke Xie
<p>汉 has different meanings in these phrases.</p>

<p>In 汉奸，汉 stands for the ethnicity (or probably the nationality), but in 男子汉 and 女汉子，汉 or 汉子 means masculinity.  I am not sure of the relation between these two meanings, but they are surely different.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-24T13:36:57.533Z
2015-05-24T13:36:57.533Z
Tony Beta Lambda
<blockquote>
  <p>Can you apply 男子汉 and 女汉子 to non-Chinese?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Yes. </p>

<p>Originally the 汉 in those words mean 'man of Han dynasty', however, today that connotation is completely gone. You can apply these words on people with any nationality or ethnicity.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-24T00:36:06.773Z
2015-05-24T00:36:06.773Z
NS.X.
<p>男子汉 means a man whose body or inspire is strong and who has no fear to face the difficulties.But the word"女汉子" means different.First of all, it is a word about the girl,and second, it means the girl acts like a man.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-26T06:06:04.080Z
2015-05-26T06:06:04.080Z
user11058
<p>The term 汉奸 probably only works for Han Chinese traitors, but what about other '汉's?</p>

<word-choice><usage><characters>
Can you apply 男子汉 and 女汉子 to non-Chinese?
# Can you apply 男子汉 and 女汉子 to non-Chinese?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-05-23)

The term 汉奸 probably only works for Han Chinese traitors, but what about other '汉's?

**Tags:** word-choice, usage, characters


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-05-24. Score: 3

男子汉 means a manly guy, a strong man, or a courageous fighter.

The grammar doesn't seem natural in Chinese. It actually originated in a foreign language and borrowed to Chinese. Here is some text about its origin:

据考证称呼成年男子为男子汉起源于汉武帝时代，众所周知自汉高祖刘邦白登被围后，西汉政权对北主的匈奴一直采取的和亲战略，因此匈奴人对汉人十分瞧不起，到武帝时期经过前几代皇帝的休养生息，西汉国力强盛，士卒训练有素，在汉武帝的命令下，西汉军队在卫青、霍去病两位将军的带领下，与北方的匈奴展开了激烈的战争，经过数次大战终于打败了强大的匈奴，当时的汉朝军队士兵战斗力强悍，在对战中经常以一敌二或敌三，死战不退，一扫有汉以来匈奴人对汉人的蔑视态度，因此从那时起匈奴人对汉朝士兵的称呼即为“汉儿”、“男儿汉”，此称呼后来传回中原，风靡一时，后来人们逐渐对成年男子即用男子汉称呼。

It can be used for people of any ethnicity in China (not just 汉族，but also 满族、蒙古族, etc). So foreigners can also use the word without any problem.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2015-05-24. Score: 2

汉 has different meanings in these phrases.

In 汉奸，汉 stands for the ethnicity (or probably the nationality), but in 男子汉 and 女汉子，汉 or 汉子 means masculinity. I am not sure of the relation between these two meanings, but they are surely different.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2015-05-24. Score: 2

> Can you apply 男子汉 and 女汉子 to non-Chinese?

Yes.

Originally the 汉 in those words mean 'man of Han dynasty', however, today that connotation is completely gone. You can apply these words on people with any nationality or ethnicity.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2015-05-26. Score: -1

男子汉 means a man whose body or inspire is strong and who has no fear to face the difficulties.But the word"女汉子" means different.First of all, it is a word about the girl,and second, it means the girl acts like a man.


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