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母性 (mǔ xìng) — maternal instinct; maternity, motherhood

Definition

母性 refers to the innate mothering nature — the instinct and behavior of nurturing and protecting offspring. It is a noun for the quality itself, not the role of being a mother (母亲/妈妈).

noun
maternal instinctmaternitymotherhood

Examples

  • ，母性。
    Tā shēng wán hái zi hòu, mǔ xìng jiù biàn de hěn qiáng.
    After she gave birth, her maternal instinct became very strong.
  • 母性。
    mǔ xìng Shì yì zhǒng wěi dà ér zì rán de tiān xìng.
    Motherhood is a great and natural inherent quality.
  • 母性。
    Xǔ duō dòng wù yě biǎo xiàn chū míng xiǎn de mǔ xìng.
    Many animals also display clear maternal instinct.

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.

母mǔmother
性xìngnature

母 points to mother, and 性 gives the sense of a natural quality.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 母 →

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
Family & Kinship

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