性关系 (xìng guān xi) — sexual intercourse; sexual relationship

Definition

noun
sexual intercoursesexual relationship

Examples

  • 性关系。
    Tā men zhī jiān fā shēng le xìng guān xi.
    They had a sexual relationship.
  • 性关系。
    xìng guān xi Shì liǎng gè rén zhī jiān de shì.
    A sexual relationship is a matter between two people.
  • 性关系。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì nián qīng rén yào zhù yì xìng guān xi de jiàn kāng.
    Doctors advise young people to pay attention to sexual health.

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.

性xìngsexual
关系
关guānlink系xìconnect
联合Side by side

性 means sexual, while 关系 means connection or relationship, together naming sexual relations.

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
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 →

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 關; 关 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
門門méndoor
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢇅
𢇅𢇅關guān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 关, the traditional form 關 shows 門 as a door and 𢇅 as two wooden sticks locking it, with ring-like marks on top.

Open 关 →

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

系 is made by putting together 手 (hand) and 糸 (silk).

Open 系 →
Appears in
Romance & Marriage

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