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性急 (xìng jí) — impatient; short-tempered

Definition

Describes a person who is impatient or short-tempered — quick to lose patience and prone to hasty, angry reactions. Used only as an adjective/verb phrase about temperament, not about wanting to leave quickly.

verb
impatientshort-tempered

Examples

  • 性急，。
    Tā hěn xìng jí, bù xǐ huan děng rén.
    He is very impatient and doesn't like waiting for others.
  • 性急，。
    Tā xìng jí róng yì shēng qì, nǐ yào xiǎo xīn shuō huà.
    She is short-tempered and gets angry easily, so be careful what you say.
  • 性急。
    xìng jí De rén cháng cháng zuò cuò jué dìng.
    Impatient people often make wrong decisions.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

性xìngtemperament
急jíhurried

性 (temperament) is described as 急 (hurried), giving an impatient nature.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí急jí
Same sound today

急 pairs 心 (heart) with 及, which gives the sound.

Open 急 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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