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本性

běn xìng

HSK 3.0 level 7-9 2-character word

本性 (běn xìng) means "natural instincts; nature; inherent quality". It is an HSK 3.0 level 7-9 word, and was not on the old six-level HSK list.

What 本性 means

1. natural instincts
2. nature
3. inherent quality

The characters in 本性

• 本běn(bound form) root; stem; (bound form) origin; source; (bound form) one's own; this
• 性xìngnature; character; property

Example sentences

• 好奇是哲学家的本性。
  Hàoqí shì zhéxuéjiā de běnxìng.
  Wonder is the true character of the philosopher.
• 江山易改，本性难移。
  Jiāngshānyìgǎi, běnxìngnányí.
  A leopard never changes its spots.
• 光速比音速快，所以有些人乍看之下很聪明，等到听到他们开口说话，愚笨的本性才表露无遗。
  Guāngsù bǐ yīnsù kuài, suǒyǐ yǒuxiērén zhàkàn zhīxià hěn cōngming, děngdào tīngdào tāmen kāikǒu shuōhuà, yúbèn de běnxìng cái biǎolùwúyí.
  It is because light travels faster than sound that some people look brilliant before sounding stupid.

Words starting with 本性

• 本性难移běn xìng nán yíIt is hard to change one's essential nature (idiom). You can't change who you are.…

Words containing 本性

• 江山易改，本性难移jiāng shān yì gǎi , běn xìng nán yíit is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one's character (idiom)…

Go deeper

• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read běn xìng correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.