心性 (xīn xìng) — innate character, temperament, disposition | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

心性 (xīn xìng) is one's innate, deep-seated character or temperament — a more formal, philosophical term than everyday 性格, often used for moral or spiritual disposition.

noun

innate charactertemperamentdisposition

Examples

心性。
Tā de xīn xìng hěn shàn liáng.
His temperament is very kind.
，心性。
Jīng guò duō nián de xiū xíng, tā de xīn xìng biàn de gèng jiā jiān dìng.
After years of cultivation, his character became more steadfast.
心性。
Zhè běn shū tǎo lùn de shì rú hé xiū yǎng xīn xìng.
This book discusses how to cultivate one's nature.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

心 and 性 both point to inner disposition, so together they mean temperament.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

忄生性

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

生

生shēng性xìng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

性 is built from 忄 (the heart) and 生 (a sound clue). The heart part connects the word to a person's inner nature or quality.

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.