性 (xìng): nature; character; disposition

Meanings

1 nature; character; disposition
2 gender; sex
3 -ness; -ity (suffix forming abstract nouns)

Characters

性

xìng

nature; character; gender

Combines 忄 (heart) with 生 (life/birth) — one's inborn nature from the heart.

Examples

他的性很急。

Tā de xìng hěn jí.

He has an impatient temperament.

这个问题的重要性不能忽视。

Zhège wèntí de zhòngyàoxìng bùnéng hūshì.

The importance of this issue cannot be ignored.

这种药没有毒性。

Zhè zhǒng yào méiyǒu dúxìng.

This medicine has no toxicity.

Tips

grammar

As a suffix, 性 turns adjectives into abstract nouns, similar to English '-ness'/'-ity': 可能性 (possibility), 重要性 (importance), 创造性 (creativity), 必要性 (necessity).

usage

性 alone can mean 'sex/sexuality' in modern Chinese, but in compounds it's usually neutral: 性别 (gender), 性格 (personality), 个性 (individuality).

Components

radical

忄 xīn

heart; mind

Heart radical on the left (side-form of 心) — three strokes for the heart upright at the side. Anchors 性 in the mental/emotional family alongside 怕 (afraid), 情 (feeling), 怀 (cherish), 忙 (busy). One's nature, disposition, character — matters of the heart.

phonetic

生 shēng

to be born; life (here phonetic)

Right 生 supplies the sound — shēng drifted to xìng via Old Chinese sh/s alternation and a tone shift. Same phonetic in 姓 (surname), 牲 (livestock), 星 (star). 'Born' fits faintly: your 性 is what you are born with — the role is primarily phonetic.