The Origin and Evolution of Chinese Character ——"男" 男nán Male Character “男” is made up of “田tián” and “力lì”, means to work in the farmland. Men, who are physically stronger than women, are more suitable for the heavy hard work in the farmland. So people use “男” referring to the gender of people engaged in this hard work. 田tián, farmland, farm field 力lì, strength.