直男

zhínán

noun #81,030

Measure Word

一个直男 gè

Meanings

1 straight guy
2 (internet slang, often pejorative) a hetero man with stereotypically clueless or insensitive behavior

Characters

Examples

他是个直男，从来不懂女朋友的暗示。

Tā shì gè zhínán, cónglái bù dǒng nǚpéngyou de ànshì.

He's such a straight-guy type — never picks up his girlfriend's hints.

这个评论太直男了吧。

Zhège pínglùn tài zhínán le ba.

That comment is so 'straight-guy', come on.

Tips

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Internet slang. Two senses to be aware of: (1) neutral 'heterosexual man'; (2) the trendier weibo/小红书 sense, often shaded toward 直男癌 (zhínán'ái, 'straight-male cancer') — i.e. tone-deaf, sexist, romantically obtuse. Tone of voice carries most of the weight.

culture

Pairs with 钢铁直男 ('steel straight guy', extremely oblivious) and 直男审美 ('straight-guy aesthetic', code for tacky design choices).

Stroke Order

直 zhí

男 nán