性行为 (xìng xíng wéi) — sexual behavior; the sex act

Definition

noun

sexual behaviorthe sex act

性行为。
xìng xíng wéi Shì chéng nián rén zhī jiān de shì qing.
Sexual behavior is something between adults.
。
Tā men tǎo lùn le ān quán xìng xíng wéi de zhòng yào xìng.
They discussed the importance of safe sexual behavior.
性行为。
Hūn qián xìng xíng wéi zài yì xiē wén huà zhōng bú bèi jiē shòu.
Premarital sexual behavior is not accepted in some cultures.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

行为behavior

联合Coordinate

性 is sex, 行 and 为 both mean act or do, so it is sexual behavior.

Characters in this word

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

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.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

彳亍行

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 為; 为 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 為 showed a hand holding an elephant; the simplified 为 is a later shorthand.

Appears in