天性

Chinese

		day; sky; heaven	sex; nature; suffix corresponding to ‑ness or ‑ity
simp. and trad. (天性)		天	性

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tiānxìng

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢ ㄒㄧㄥˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): tin¹ sing³
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): thiên-sin
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): thian-sèng

  (Teochew, Peng'im): tiang¹ sên³

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tiānxìng
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢ ㄒㄧㄥˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tiansìng
    • Wade–Giles: tʻien¹-hsing⁴
    • Yale: tyān-syìng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tianshinq
    • Palladius: тяньсин (tjanʹsin)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ɕiŋ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: tin¹ sing³
    • Yale: tīn sing
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tin¹ sing³
    • Guangdong Romanization: tin¹ xing³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiːn⁵⁵ sɪŋ³³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: thiên-sin
    • Hakka Romanization System: tien^ˊ xin
    • Hagfa Pinyim: tian¹ xin⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /tʰi̯en²⁴⁻¹¹ sin⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thian-sèng
    • Tâi-lô: thian-sìng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: tiensexng
    • IPA (Xiamen): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² siɪŋ²¹/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰiɛn³³ siɪŋ⁴¹/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² siɪŋ²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ siɪŋ¹¹/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ siɪŋ²¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: tiang¹ sên³
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: thiang sèⁿ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiaŋ³³⁻²³ sẽ²¹³/

---

• Middle Chinese: then sjengH

Rime
Character	天	性
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	透 (6)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	先 (85)	清 (121)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	IV	III
Fanqie	他前切	息正切
Baxter	then	sjengH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/tʰen/	/siᴇŋH/
Pan Wuyun	/tʰen/	/siɛŋH/
Shao Rongfen	/tʰɛn/	/siæŋH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/tʰɛn/	/siajŋH/
Li Rong	/tʰen/	/siɛŋH/
Wang Li	/tʰien/	/sĭɛŋH/
Bernard Karlgren	/tʰien/	/si̯ɛŋH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	tiān	xìng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	tin1	sing3

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*l̥ˤi[n]|l̥ˤi[n]  seŋ-s/

  (Zhengzhang): /*qʰl'iːn  sleŋs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	天	天	性
Reading #	1/2	2/2	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	tiān	xiān	xìng
Middle Chinese	‹ then ›	‹ xen ›	‹ sjengH ›
Old Chinese	/*l̥ˁi[n]/	/*l̥ˁi[n]/ (W dialect: l̥ˁ- > Hàn-time *xˁ- > MC x-)	/*seŋ-s/
English	heaven	heaven	nature
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	天	性
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	12387	11358
Phonetic component	天	生
Rime group	眞	耕
Rime subdivision	1	0
Corresponding MC rime	天	性
Old Chinese	/*qʰl'iːn/	/*sleŋs/

Noun

天性

1. nature (of a species, organism, etc.); innate disposition; temperament

   天性放誕／天性放诞  ―  tiānxìng fàngdàn  ―  to have an unrestrained temperament

   • 形色，天性也。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Xíngsè, tiānxìng yě. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 其俗，寬則隨畜，因射獵禽獸為生業，急則人習戰攻以侵伐，其天性也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     其俗，宽则随畜，因射猎禽兽为生业，急则人习战攻以侵伐，其天性也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

     Qí sú, kuān zé suíxù, yīn shèliè qínshòu wéi shēngyè, jí zé rénxí zhàngōng yǐ qīnfá, qí tiānxìng yě. [Pinyin]

     It is their custom to herd their flocks in times of peace and make their living by hunting, but in periods of crisis they take up arms and go off on plundering and marauding expeditions. This seems to be their inborn nature.

Synonyms

edit

• 常性 (chángxìng)
• 性地 (xìngdì) (literary or Min Nan)
• 性子 (xìngzi)
• 性情 (xìngqíng)
• 情性 (qíngxìng) (literary)
• 本性 (běnxìng)
• 本質／本质 (běnzhì)
• 氣性／气性
• 率性 (shuàixìng) (literary)
• 理 (lǐ) (literary, or in compounds)
• 癖 (Hokkien, Teochew)
• 癖鼻 (Xiamen Hokkien, Zhangzhou Hokkien)
• 秉性 (bǐngxìng)
• 稟性／禀性 (bǐngxìng)
• 稟氣／禀气 (bǐngqì) (literary)
• 素性 (sùxìng)
• 脾氣／脾气
• 腸子／肠子 (chángzi) (figurative)
• 量草 (Zhangzhou Hokkien)

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (天性):

• → Japanese: 天性(てんせい) (tensei)
• → Korean: 천성(天性) (cheonseong)
• → Vietnamese: thiên tính (天性)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
天	性
てん Grade: 1	せい Grade: 5
on'yomi

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) てんせー [téꜜǹsèè] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [tẽ̞ɰ̃se̞ː]

Noun

天(てん)性(せい) • (tensei) 

1. nature, innate disposition, inborn quality

Korean

Hanja in this term
天	性

Noun

天性 • (cheonseong) (hangeul 천성)

1. hanja form^? of 천성

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
天	性

Noun

天性

1. chữ Hán form of thiên tính (“nature; character; instinct”).