The word 男性 is formed by combining two conceptual building blocks: 男, which means "male" or "man", and 性, which carries the core idea of "nature", "character", or "essential quality". When joined, they create a compound where the second character 性 acts as a conceptual category, so the word literally and conceptually signifies "the male nature" or "the essential quality of being male", thereby arriving at its meaning of "man" or "male" as a broad category.