脾气 meaning in English
character; temperament; disposition; bad temper
Meaning of 脾气
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- character; temperament; disposition
- bad temper
Measure word: 股
How to use 脾气
脾气 describes someone's temperament, and on its own it often hints at a bad temper. Common phrases are 脾气好 (good-natured), 脾气大 (hot-tempered), and 发脾气 (to lose one's temper). Example: 他今天又发脾气了。(Tā jīntiān yòu fā píqi le.) He lost his temper again today.
脾 (pí) means the spleen, and 气 (qì) means air or energy. Picture the energy stored in your organs: when that 气 builds up inside, it comes out as your temper.
Common mistake: Learners often say 生脾气, mixing it up with 生气 (shēngqì). The correct verb is 发 (fā): 发脾气. Also, 气 in 脾气 is usually read in the neutral tone, píqi, not píqì.
脾气 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
脾 pí · spleen · 12 strokes
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气 qì · gas · 4 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 脾气.
| 生气 | shēngqì | to get angry; to be furious; vitality; liveliness |
| 天气 | tiānqì | weather |
| 不客气 | bù kèqì | you're welcome; don't mention it |
| 空气 | kōngqì | air; atmosphere |
| 气温 | qìwēn | air temperature |
| 气候 | qìhòu | (meteorology) climate; (fig.) climate; prevailing conditions (in human affairs) |
| 运气 | yùnqi | luck (good or bad) |
| 勇气 | yǒngqì | courage |
| 力气 | lìqi | physical strength |
| 气球 | qìqiú | balloon |
| 暖气 | nuǎnqì | central heating; heater |
| 客气 | kèqi | polite; courteous |
Questions about 脾气
What does 脾气 mean?
脾气 (píqi) means "character; temperament; disposition; bad temper" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 脾气?
脾气 is made of 2 characters: 脾 (12 strokes), 气 (4 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 脾气 an HSK word?
Yes. 脾气 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 脾气 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 脾气 is written 脾氣.
What is the difference between 脾气 and 性格?
性格 (xìnggé) is a person's overall personality, such as shy or outgoing. 脾气 focuses on temper and how easily someone gets angry or stays calm.
Can 脾气 be used for animals?
Yes. People often talk about a pet's temperament, for example 这只狗脾气很好 (Zhè zhī gǒu píqi hěn hǎo), meaning this dog is very gentle.