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

HSK 3

他的性很急。

Tā de xìng hěn jí.

He has an impatient temperament.

HSK 5

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.

HSK 6

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

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.