The character 性 — “nature”: how to write it and what it means
nature, property; sex
The Chinese character 性 is read xìng and means “nature, property; sex”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 性
性 has 8 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 性, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 性 is made of
On the left, 忄 “heart”; on the right, 生 shēng “be born”: what you're given at birth. Sounds the same as 姓.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 性
- 性别sex, gender (male, female)HSK 4
- 男性man, maleHSK 4
- 女性woman, femaleHSK 4
- 性格personality, characterHSK 4
- 个性individualityHSK 5
- 性质nature, propertyHSK 5
- 一次性disposable, single-useHSK 5
- 性能performance, properties (tech.)HSK 6
- 特性property, characteristicHSK 6
- 弹性elasticity, flexibilityHSK 6
- 理性rational; reasonHSK 6
- 性价比value for moneyHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 性?
性 has 8 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 性 mean?
性 means “nature, property; sex”. It appears in 性别 (“sex”), 男性 (“man”), 女性 (“woman”), 性格 (“personality”).
How do you pronounce 性?
性 is read xìng. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 性 have?
8 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 性 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free