TongTong
Sign in

修养 (xiū yǎng) — (moral/intellectual) self-cultivation, personal refinement; accomplishment (in art, culture, etc.)

Definition

修养 is personal cultivation in character and taste — how refined a person is, not what they've achieved. Use 成就 for concrete achievements; 素养 for skill in one specific field (art, profession).

noun
(moral/intellectual) self-cultivationpersonal refinementaccomplishment (in art, culture, etc.)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 修养。
    Yí gè rén de xiū yǎng xū yào cháng qī jī lěi.
    A person's self-cultivation requires long-term accumulation.
  • ，修养。
    Tā bù jǐn xué wèn hǎo, ér qiě hěn yǒu xiū yǎng.
    She is not only knowledgeable but also has great personal refinement.
  • 修养。
    Tí gāo yì shù xiū yǎng zuì hǎo de fāng fǎ shì duō xīn shǎng jīng diǎn zuò pǐn.
    The best way to improve artistic accomplishment is to appreciate more classic works.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

修xiūcultivate
养yǎngnourish

修 suggests cultivating and 养 suggests nourishing, together describing personal refinement.

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
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu修xiū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

修 is built from 攸, which gives the sound, and 彡, a set of three strokes that shows the meaning.

Open 修 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 養; 养 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 養 uses 羊 as a sound part and 食 as a meaning part.

Open 养 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Personality & Traits

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