雌 — “Feminine / Female” in Japanese

Master (高手)し, め-, めす, めん

Radical ⾫ · radical 172 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Feminine / Female” in Japanese is 雌, read shi, me, mesu (し, め-, めす, めん). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 雌 (female).

Try it now

What does 雌 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	雌
Meaning	Feminine / Female
Readings	し, め-, めす, めん
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	雌 (female)

How to read 雌

雌 is read shi (し) or me (め-) or mesu (めす) or men (めん) depending on the word.

Learn 雌 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Kanji read the same way as 雌

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Updated: 2026-08-28