素性 (sù xìng) — innate disposition, natural temperament

Definition

素性 refers to a person's innate, inborn temperament — the disposition someone is 'born with', deeper and more fixed than everyday mood. Often used in formal or literary writing about character.

noun
innate dispositionnatural temperament
Easily confused

Examples

  • 素性，。
    Tā sù xìng wēn hé, cóng bù yǔ rén zhēng chǎo.
    He has a gentle disposition and never argues with anyone.
  • 素性，。
    Yí gè rén de sù xìng hěn nán gǎi biàn, dàn xíng wéi kě yǐ tiáo zhěng.
    A person's innate temperament is hard to change, but behavior can be adjusted.
  • 素性，。
    Xiǎo shuō zhǔ rén gōng de sù xìng gāng liè, zuì hòu xuǎn zé le zì shā.
    The novel's protagonist has a fiery disposition and ultimately chose suicide.

Origin

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.

素sùnatural
性xìngdisposition

素 (natural) with 性 (disposition) gives innate temperament.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 素 came from a picture of hands braiding thread.

Open 素 →

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 →

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