vrouwelijke

Vrouwelijke is a Dutch adjective meaning feminine or female. It is derived from the noun vrouw (woman) with the common adjectival suffix -elijk, giving the core meaning of relating to or characteristic of women, or of femininity.

In usage, vrouwelijke is typically used before a noun to describe something as feminine or female. For example, een vrouwelijke arts (a female doctor), de vrouwelijke docent (the female teacher), or vrouwelijke eigenschappen (feminine traits). The base form vrouwelijk is used in other grammatical contexts, such as when referring to the concept of femininity or in predicative positions where the adjective stands on its own (for example, haar stem is vrouwelijk, meaning her voice is feminine).

The term also appears in biological or gender-context discussions, where it denotes the female sex or gender in contrast with mannelijk (masculine) or androgynous terms. In Dutch, femininity can be discussed as a social or cultural attribute, and the word is frequently found in education, media, and scholarly writing dealing with gender, identity, or biology.

Related terms include mannelijk (masculine), vrouwelijkheid (femininity or the state of being female), and het vrouwelijke (the female, when used as a noun phrase). While Nederlandse grammar treats gender and agreement in adjectives, vrouwelijke serves as the common attributive form before de-words in singular and plural noun phrases, with the base form vrouwelijk used more broadly to express the concept of femininity.