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变性 (biàn xìng) — (noun) sex change, gender transition (medical or social process); (noun) transsexual, transgender person (often used attributively in compounds)

Definition

In everyday use 变性 refers to sex change or being transgender; in biology/chemistry it also means denaturation (e.g. of protein). The medical/social sense is the common one.

noun
sex changegender transition (medical or social process)transsexualtransgender person (often used attributively in compounds)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 变性，。
    Tā zuò le biàn xìng shǒu shù, xiàn zài guò dé hěn xìng fú.
    He had sex reassignment surgery and is now living happily.
  • 变性，。
    Guān yú biàn xìng de huà tí, shè huì xū yào gèng duō de lǐ jiě.
    Society needs more understanding regarding the topic of transgender.
  • 变性。
    Gāo wēn huì dǎo zhì dàn bái zhì biàn xìng.
    High temperatures can cause protein denaturation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

变biànchange
性xìngsex

The word combines change and sex to mean a sex change.

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 變; 变 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
䜌
䜌䜌變biàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 變 uses 䜌 as a sound part and 攴 as a meaning part.

Open 变 →

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
Medicine & Treatment

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