TongTong
Sign in

阴性 (yīn xìng) — (noun) negative (test result, indicating absence of a condition); (noun) feminine (gender in grammar)

Definition

阴性 has two technical senses: a negative medical test result, and the feminine grammatical gender (as in German). Pairs with 阳性, which covers positive test results and masculine gender.

noun
negative (test result, indicating absence of a condition)feminine (gender in grammar)
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，阴性。
    Yī shēng gào sù wǒ, jiǎn chá jié guǒ shì yīn xìng.
    The doctor told me the test result was negative.
  • ，、阴性。
    Zài dé yǔ zhōng, míng cí yǒu yáng xìng, yīn xìng hé zhōng xìng sān zhǒng.
    In German, nouns are divided into masculine, feminine, and neuter.
  • 阴性，。
    Rú guǒ jiǎn cè jié guǒ shì yīn xìng, jiù bù xū yào zhì liáo.
    If the test result is negative, no treatment is needed.

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.

阴yīnyin
性xìngnature

The yin sense of 阴, with the nature sense of 性, names 'negative' or 'feminine'.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 陰; 阴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
侌
侌yīn陰yīn
Same sound today

The traditional form 陰 combines 阜, the meaning part, with 侌, the sound part. The simplified 阴 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 阴 →

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 7-9Medicine & Treatment

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