雌 means “female (animal)”

めす · mesu

Also: feminine, female

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

め-, めす, めん

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

シ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 14 strokes

The story

A bird (隹) beside 此, here: think of the hen sitting right here on her nest. 雌 is a female animal, 雌しべ is a flower's pistil, and 雌雄を決する, settling which is hen and which is cock, is a showdown to decide who wins.

Used in 雌 (mesu, female), 雌しべ (meshibe, pistil), and 雌雄 (shiyuu, male and female)

More from Beasts & Wings

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• 牙 fang
• 蚊 mosquito
• 蜂 bee
• 雄 male (animal)
• 尾 tail
• 翼 wing
• 鶴 crane
• 巣 nest
• 虎 tiger
• 昆 insects
• 獣 beast

Learn 雌 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.