男女
nánnǔ · HSK 4
men and women
👨👩 男 (man) + 女 (woman) = men and women
男 depicts 田 (field) over 力 (strength) — the one who labors in the field. 女 is a pictograph of a kneeling person. Together they pair the two characters for the collective sense.
男 — field 田 + strength/plow 力
男 is a compound ideograph combining 田 (field) above 力 (strength, originally a picture of a plow). It depicted the one who works the fields with a plow, i.e. a male laborer, and by extension came to mean 'man' or 'male' in general.
女 — pictograph of a kneeling woman
女 is a pictograph originating in oracle bone script, depicting a person kneeling with arms crossed in front, a posture associated with women in ancient China. Over time the form was simplified and squared off into the modern character. Its core meaning of 'woman' or 'female' has remained stable for over three thousand years.