How to Write 性 (xìng) — Meaning “nature; character; gender”

Picture a heart (忄) giving birth (生) to your unique personality. The heart represents your inner feelings, and 生 reminds you that personality is something you are born with.

Write the left radical 忄 first: dot, dot, then a vertical stroke; make it narrow. Then on the right, write 生: start with a left-falling stroke, then horizontal, horizontal, vertical, and a final horizontal. A common mistake is making the radical too wide or mixing up the dot order.

性 has 生 on the right and means nature or character. 忏 has 千 (thousand) on the right and means to repent or confess. 忕 has 大 (big) on the right and is rarely used, meaning habit or addiction. The right-side component changes both pronunciation and meaning.

性 is very common in words about personality, quality, and gender. For example, 性格 means personality, 性质 means nature or property, and 可能性 means possibility. In Chinese culture, 性 also appears in philosophical discussions about human nature, such as in Confucian texts.

Common words containing 性 include: 性格 (xìng gé) — personality; character; 性质 (xìng zhì) — nature; quality; property; 可能性 (kě néng xìng) — possibility; probability.