The kanji 性 primarily conveys the meaning of "nature," "character," "property," or "sex." It refers to the inherent qualities, characteristics, or essence of something, whether it be a person, an object, or an abstract concept. It can also relate to the biological sex of a person or animal. It encompasses both innate traits and the fundamental nature of something.

・On-yomi (音読み): セイ (sei) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None, but often used in compound words.

⚫︎性格 (seikaku) Translation: Personality; Character ⚫︎男性 (dansei) Translation: Male ⚫︎可能性 (kanousei) Translation: Possibility

The kanji 性 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). The semantic component is 生 (sei/nama), which originally depicted the act of being born or growth and development, and thus relates to "life" or "birth". The phonetic component is also 生 (sei), providing the sound. The original meaning of 性 was related to inherent qualities or the innate nature of something, originating from the idea of "born with" or "being of such a nature." This core meaning then expanded to encompass various related concepts like character, properties, and even sex.