烈性 (liè xìng) — (attr.) strong, potent (of alcohol, medicine, c…

Definition

Used as an attributive before nouns (烈性酒, 烈性炸药, 烈性马) to mean 'strong / potent' (substances) or 'spirited / fiery' (animals, temperament).

adjective

(attr.) strongpotent (of alcohol, medicine, chemical, etc.)(attr.) spiritedfiery (of temperament or animals)

。
liè xìng Jiǔ hē duō le duì shēn tǐ bù hǎo.
Drinking too much strong liquor is bad for your health.
烈性，。
Zhè zhǒng liè xìng zhà yào fēi cháng wēi xiǎn, bì xū xiǎo xīn shǐ yòng.
This kind of high explosive is very dangerous; you must handle it carefully.
烈性，。
Tā qí le yì pǐ liè xìng mǎ, hěn nán kòng zhì.
He rode a spirited horse that was hard to control.

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.

烈lièfiery; strong

性xìngnature; temperament

“烈” conveys fiery intensity applied to “性” nature or temperament, giving strong, spirited.

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.

列灬烈

Meaning part形符xíngfú

灬Written in full as火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

列

Same sound today

烈 pairs 列 for the sound with 灬, a form of 火 (fire).

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