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本质

běn zhì

Old HSK 5 HSK 3.0 level 5 2-character word Traditional 本質

本质 (běn zhì) means "essence". It is an HSK 3.0 level 5 word, and was HSK 5 in the old six-level list.

What 本质 means

1. essence
2. nature
3. innate character
4. intrinsic quality

The characters in 本质

• 本běn(bound form) root; stem; (bound form) origin; source; (bound form) one's own; this
• 质zhìcharacter; nature; quality

Example sentences

• 这就是事情的本质。
  Zhè jiù shì shìqing de běnzhì.
  That is the essence of the matter.
• 自由的本质就是数学。
  The essence of liberty is mathematics.
• 它本质上是一个时间的问题。
  Tā běnzhìshàng shì yī gè shíjiān de wèntí.
  It is essentially a question of time.
• 众人皆知月球之本质为芝士。
  Everybody knows the moon is made of cheese.
• 喏，这是我的秘密。很简单。只有用心才能看到本质的东西。精髓是眼睛看不见的。
  Nuò, zhè shì wǒ de mìmì. hěn jiǎndān. zhǐ yǒuyòng xīn cáinéng kàn dào běnzhì de dōngxi. jīngsuǐ shì yǎnjing kànbujiàn de.
  And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
• 奥运会最重要的不是胜利，而是参与；正如在生活中最重要的事情不是成功，而是奋斗；但最本质的事情并不是征服，而是奋力拼搏。
  àoyùnhuì zuì zhòngyào de bù shì shènglì, érshì cānyù; zhèngrú zài shēnghuó zhōng zuì zhòngyào de shìqing bù shì chénggōng, érshì fèndòu; dàn zuì běnzhì de shìqing bìngbù shì zhēngfú, érshì fènlì pīnbó.
  The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.

Words starting with 本质

• 本质上běn zhì shàngessentially; inherent

Words containing 本质

• 牙本质yá běn zhìdentin; dentine

Where 本质 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Essence, Fundamentals & Logic (HSK 5), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 5 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read běn zhì correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.