警觉性 (jǐng jué xìng) — vigilance; alertness

Definition

警觉性 is the abstract noun meaning 'vigilance/alertness as a quality' — it names the trait itself, not a single alert moment. Unlike an action verb, it pairs with 保持 or 缺乏 to describe a steady state.

noun
vigilancealertness

Examples

  • 警觉性。
    Bǎo ān rén yuán bì xū bǎo chí gāo dù de jǐng jué xìng.
    Security personnel must maintain a high level of vigilance.
  • ，警觉性。
    Zài yě wài lù yíng shí, jǐng jué xìng fēi cháng zhòng yào.
    When camping in the wild, alertness is very important.
  • 警觉性。
    Tā de jǐng jué xìng bāng zhù tā bì miǎn le yí cì shì gù.
    His vigilance helped him avoid an accident.

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.

警觉alertness
警jǐngalert觉juéperceive
联合Side by side
性xìngquality

警 and 觉 combine into alertness, and 性 gives the sense of a quality.

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
言言yánspoken language, speech
Sound part声符shēngfú
敬
敬jìng警
Same sound today

警 places 言 (speech) below 敬; 敬 gives the sound.

Open 警 →

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 覺; 觉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
𦥯
𦥯𦥯覺jué
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 覺 pairs 見, a part that means see, with 𦥯, a part that gives the sound; simplified 觉 is a later abbreviation.

Open 觉 →

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 →

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