惯性
guàn xìng · HSK 7
inertia
🎳 惯 habit + 性 nature = the habit-nature that keeps a thing doing what it already does
惯 means accustomed/habit and 性 means nature or property. Together they name the property of keeping the same motion or state until a force changes it: inertia.
惯 — heart radical 忄 + 贯 (guàn, string of coins)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The heart radical 忄 signals a mental or emotional quality, while 贯 — originally a string threading coins together — supplies the sound and the idea of 'threading through' continuously. Together they suggest a habit: something the heart strings together repeatedly until it becomes routine.
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.'