性

xìng

忄 + 生

HSK 3.0Level 4

Definitions

xìng (noun) nature; character; quality; property

xìng (noun) gender; sex

xìng (noun) temperament; disposition

xìng (particle) suffix forming adjective or noun (-ness; -ity)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 忄 represents the meaning and 生 represents the sound.

Semantic: 忄 Phonetic: 生

About

Composed of the vertical heart radical 忄 on the left, indicating mind or inner feeling, and the component 生 on the right meaning birth or life, the character 性 primarily denotes the innate disposition or fundamental nature one is born with. This encompasses both inherent personality traits and the essential properties of things. Beyond this core meaning of natural character, 性 also serves as the key term for concepts of biological sex and gender in modern language.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

她的性格很温柔。

Tā de xìnggé hěn wēnróu.

Her personality is very gentle.

这种药的性质很稳定。

Zhè zhǒng yào de xìngzhì hěn wěndìng.

The nature of this medicine is very stable.

请填写你的性别。

Qǐng tiánxiě nǐ de xìngbié.

Please fill in your gender.

这台电脑的性能不错。

Zhè tái diànnǎo de xìngnéng bùcuò.

This computer's performance is not bad.

这个计划有弹性时间。

Zhège jìhuà yǒu tánxìng shíjiān.

This plan has flexible time.

在决策时需要保持理性。

Zài juécè shí xūyào bǎochí lǐxìng.

When making decisions, one needs to maintain rationality.

她是一个感性的人，容易流泪。

Tā shì yīgè gǎnxìng de rén, róngyì liú lèi.

She is a sentimental person, easy to cry.

考虑到各种可能性，我们做了多手准备。

Kǎolǜ dào gè zhǒng kěnéngxìng, wǒmen zuòle duō shǒu zhǔnbèi.

Considering various possibilities, we made multiple preparations.

Related Characters

Component: 忄

Component: 生

性