雌し雄ゆう

し

ゆ

う

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

male and female; the two sexes

Primarily used for animals; can also refer to the two sexes more broadly.

Often used in the phrase 雌雄を決する (to fight it out, to decide the outcome).

〈動どう物ぶつ〉の雌し雄ゆうを見み分わけるto tell the male and female of an animal apart
このヒナはまだ雌し雄ゆうを見み分わけるのが難むずかしい。
It's still hard to tell whether this chick is male or female.
雌し雄ゆうを争あらそうto fight it out to see who comes out on top
二人ふたりは決けっ勝しょうで雌し雄ゆうを争あらそった。
The two of them fought it out in the final to see who would win.

男だん女じょN1sense 1
雌雄 refers to the male and female sexes primarily of animals or plants, while 男女 refers specifically to men and women among people.
勝しょう敗はいN2sense 2
雌雄 in this sense is a literary word almost always paired with 決する to mean 'settle who wins', while 勝敗 is the plain, everyday word for 'victory or defeat'.
勝しょう負ぶN2sense 2
勝負 means a match or contest and its outcome, whereas 雌雄 (as in 雌雄を決する) is a more formal, idiomatic way of saying the outcome will be decided.

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Compound of 雌 (female) and 雄 (male). The extended sense of 'victory and defeat' likely comes from the idea of a contest between two opposing forces.