生性 (shēng xìng) — natural disposition, innate nature

Definition

A formal noun meaning 'innate nature' — how someone is by birth or character. Pairs with traits like 善良, 多疑; tone is more literary than casual.

noun

natural dispositioninnate nature

生性，。
Tā de shēng xìng hěn wēn hé, bù róng yì fā pí qi.
His natural disposition is very gentle; he doesn't get angry easily.
生性，。
Tā shēng xìng shàn liáng, zǒng shì bāng zhù bié rén.
She is kind by nature and always helps others.
生性。
shēng xìng Duō yí de rén hěn nán xiāng chǔ.
People who are suspicious by nature are hard to get along with.

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.

生 points to what is innate, and 性 means nature, so the meaning is natural disposition.

Characters in this word

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

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.

Appears in