性
xìng · HSK 3
gender
性 = 忄(heart) + 生 (birth) — what you're born with: inner nature
The heart radical 忄marks feelings/disposition; 生 means birth or life. Together: the disposition you're born with — your inborn nature or character. By extension covers gender and sex, the traits one is born into.
性 — heart radical 忄 + 生 (life/birth)
性 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The heart radical 忄 supplies the meaning, pointing to inner feelings or innate qualities, while 生 ('birth, life') gives the sound and hints at what one is born with. It originally meant 'inborn nature' and later extended to 'character,' 'gender,' and 'sex.'