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慢性 (màn xìng) — (of illnesses) chronic, long-lasting; (of a person or action) slow, deliberate, slow-acting

Definition

A bound medical/technical adjective meaning 'chronic' (illness) or 'slow-acting' (poison). Pairs with nouns like 病 or 毒药; not used alone like 慢.

adjective
(of illnesses) chroniclong-lasting(of a person or action) slowdeliberateslow-acting

Examples

  • ，。
    Yī shēng shuō tā zhè shì màn xìng bìng, xū yào cháng qī zhì liáo.
    The doctor said this is a chronic illness and requires long-term treatment.
  • 慢性，。
    Tā shì gè màn xìng zi, zuò shén me shì qing dōu bù zháo jí.
    She is a slow-paced person; she never rushes when doing things.
  • 慢性，。
    Zhè zhǒng dú yào shì màn xìng de, jǐ tiān hòu cái fā zuò.
    This poison is slow-acting; it only takes effect a few days later.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

慢mànslow
性xìngcharacter

慢 “slow” and 性 “character” combine to describe a slow-acting or chronic quality.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
曼
曼màn慢màn
Same sound today

慢 pairs 忄 (heart) with 曼 (màn). The heart part points to a manner or sluggish behavior, while 曼’s meaning “long, extended” adds the sense of taking a long time.

Open 慢 →

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

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.

Open 性 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Illness & SymptomsPersonality & Traits

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