性别(xìng bié) - sex, gender in Mandarin

性别 (xìngbié) means "sex" or "gender", the box you tick on almost every official form alongside 姓名 (xìngmíng, name) and 年龄 (niánlíng, age). 性 (xìng) here relates to "nature, sex" and 别 (bié) means "distinction, category", so the word is literally a "sex distinction".

On forms you will usually see just two options, 男 (nán, male) and 女 (nǚ, female); written informally, some people now also use 其他 (qítā, other).

Mind the tones: 性 (xìng) is a falling fourth tone and 别 (bié) is a rising second tone. Do not confuse this 别 (bié) with the near-identical 别 (bié) meaning "don't" in commands like 别说话 (bié shuōhuà, don't talk), which is the same tone but a completely different sense.