兽性 (shòu xìng) — brutish nature; barbarity; animal passions

Definition

noun

brutish naturebarbarityanimal passions

兽性，。
Tā de xíng wéi chōng mǎn le shòu xìng, ràng rén gǎn dào hài pà.
His behavior was full of brutish nature, making people scared.
，兽性。
Zài jí duān qíng kuàng xià, rén de shòu xìng kě néng huì bào fā chū lái.
In extreme situations, people's brutish nature may erupt.
兽性，。
Tā hē zuì hòu shòu xìng dà fā, dǎ le hěn duō rén.
After getting drunk, he lost all human reason and hit many people.

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.

The 性 nature of a 兽 beast, meaning brutish nature.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 獸; 兽 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 獸 combines 單 (hunting weapon) and 犬 (dog) to show hunting; the simplified 兽 is a shorthand.

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