雄おす

お

す

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

male (animal, plant)

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the male of a species, used for animals and plants. Often written in katakana as オス.

Usage patterns

〈動どう物ぶつ〉の雄おすthe male of an animal (species)
このカブトムシの雄おすには大おおきな角つのがある。
The male of this beetle has large horns.
雄おすと雌めすを見み分わけるto tell the male and female apart
ひよこの雄おすと雌めすを見み分わけるのは難むずかしい。
It's hard to tell the male and female chicks apart.

Kanji

雄masculine, male, hero
牡male

Related words

雌めす
Antonym; refers to female animals and plants.

Opposites

メスN2
雄 refers to the male of an animal or plant species, while 雌 refers to the female.

Counted with

匹ひきN3
The general counter for small and medium animals — dogs, cats, fish, insects; large animals take 頭.
頭とうN3
Used for large animals, so depending on the species of オス (male animal), 頭 can sound natural.

Word family

雄おす猿ざる
male monkey
雄おす豚ぶた
boar; male pig
雄おす臭くさい
male-smelling; smelling like a man
雄おすコネクタ
male connector

Written forms

雄Usage36%
- おす
  Standard kanji spelling for male animals and plants.
- おん
オスUsage41%
kana-only spelling

Etymology

The kanji 雄 and 牡 both carry the meaning 'male', with 雄 being more general and 牡 often used specifically for male animals. The reading おす is native Japanese.

Katakana spelling is very common, especially in biological or everyday contexts.

牡Usage20%

おす
Alternate kanji for male animals, less common than 雄.
おん

おすUsage3%

おん