2

The other day, someone sent me a WeChat sticker which implied I was (shuài; handsome). I wasn't exactly thrilled by this, since being called "handsome" in English implies you're kind of mannish. However, they insisted that women can be called 帅, possibly in an effort to save face.

Question: Does describing a woman as 帅 imply she is mannish?

Judging from Baidu Images, it seems to be a very masculine word.


Mannish: (of a woman) having or displaying qualities regarded as typical of a man.

2
  • Is your friend male or female?
    – Blaszard
    Nov 20, 2017 at 14:11
  • My friend is male (native Chinese).
    – Becky 李蓓
    Nov 21, 2017 at 0:09

4 Answers 4

2

can also mean cool.

Even when referring to men it doesn’t necessarily equate 100% to handsome because it could also mean cool as well based on the context.

Phrases like: 太帅了 also mean cool not handsome.

Most likely when used with a woman it just means she’s pretty cool.

If people were going to be mean and say a girl looked like a man they’d probably say something like 男人婆.

2

Personally, I think your friend was just trying to be a bit joking, and especially he/she used a WeChat sticker.

Although it's commonplace to use 帅 for a man, it's still possible that girls use it among their friends. It could be a joking way to say 'cool' among the girls.

Similarly, the word 'dude' in English is usually used by men. But I see a woman colleague used it a lot. I think it has some funny effect because of 'that unusual'.

1
  • 在西班牙语中'hombre' 的意思是'男人',但是当你听到两个西班牙女人聊天,她们往往会用'hombre'来称呼对方。我总是觉得很好笑。这跟美国人经常使用'hey man!'类似。
    – Pedroski
    Nov 21, 2017 at 0:39
1

yes.it is not good to say a woman or girl 帅.it is only to discribe man.some feminist may insist that you can use it to discribe a woman or a girl,yes,if she is a lesbian,and she is the man in her relationship.normal woman wont be happy to be discribed 帅

1

Yes. As for me, '帅' used on a women does imply that there is a sense of masculine beauty or character on her which is not common for women, particularly when she does some perfect job which would seem harder for women in traditional Chinese view (e.g. some physical work, etc).

A lot of people around me have said that western women tend to be more "independent of men" or rely less on men than Chinese women do (no offense...), so it is natural for a Chinese to feel a western woman shows more masculine beauty than feminine, or is more '帅', as compared with Chinese women.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.