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活性 (huó xìng) — chemically or biologically active; activated

Definition

A scientific term meaning 'active' — chiefly in chemistry (活性炭 'activated charcoal') and biology (酶的活性 'enzyme activity'). It is a technical noun-like adjective, not the everyday word for being energetic or lively.

adjective
chemically or biologically activeactivated

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè zhǒng huó xìng tàn néng yǒu xiào xī fù yǒu hài qì tǐ.
    This kind of activated charcoal can effectively adsorb harmful gases.
  • 活性。
    Huà zhuāng pǐn zhōng de huó xìng chéng fèn xū yào bǎo chí wěn dìng.
    The active ingredients in cosmetics need to remain stable.
  • 活性。
    Gāo wēn kě néng pò huài méi de huó xìng.
    High temperatures may destroy the activity of enzymes.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

活huóactive
性xìngproperty

活 gives active and 性 gives a sense of property, so the word means having active properties.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑活huó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

活 is built from 氵 (water) and 𠯑, which shows the sound; 𠯑 later changed into 舌.

Open 活 →

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
Science (General)

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