先天 (xiān tiān) — congenital condition; inborn trait (the period before or at birth, contrasted with 后天 acquired later); innate; inborn (used attributively)
Definition
先天 is 'inborn / congenital' (先天因素 'innate factors'), paired with 后天 to mean 'before birth vs. after'. Unlike 天生, it contrasts with acquired traits; 天性 refers to natural disposition.
noun
congenital conditioninborn trait (the period before or at birth, contrasted with 后天 acquired later)innateinborn (used attributively)
Examples
- 先天,。xiān tiān Jí bìng suī rán nán zhì, dàn xiàn dài yī xué yǐ jīng yǒu le hěn duō bàn fǎ.Although congenital diseases are hard to treat, modern medicine already has many methods.
- 先天。xiān tiān De cái néng xū yào hòu tiān de nǔ lì cái néng fā huī chū lái.Inborn talent needs acquired effort to be brought out.
- 先天。xiān tiān Yīn sù hé hòu tiān huán jìng gòng tóng jué dìng le rén de fā zhǎn.Both innate factors and acquired environment together determine a person's development.
Appears in
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