Mandarin Suffixes 性 (xìng) and 化 (huà): -ness and -ise
By Michael McGettrick and Wee Khang LinUpdated 12 October 2026
Two suffixes do most of the work of written Mandarin. (xìng) turns a quality into a noun, like English -ness or -ity: (zhòngyào), important, becomes (zhòngyàoxìng), importance. 化 (huà) turns a state into a process, like -ise: (xiàndài), modern, becomes 化 (xiàndàihuà), modernisation.
Quick check
Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.
Spot the mistake
0/3Each sentence has one mistake. Tap it.
zhè ge wèn tí hěn zhòng yào xìng 。
qǐng jiǎn xìng zhè ge jù zi 。
zhè zhǒng chē de ān quán huà hěn gāo 。
The whole system on one screen
The colours stay the same all page long:
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| zhòngyàoxìng | importance |
| kěnéngxìng | possibility |
| ānquánxìng | safety |
化 | xiàndàihuà | modernise, modernisation |
化 | quánqiúhuà | globalisation |
简化 | jiǎnhuà | simplify |
- 这很重要 zhè hěn zhòngyào: this matters
- 这件事的重要性 zhè jiàn shì de zhòngyàoxìng: the importance of this
Both suffixes belong mainly to writing: news, reports, essays, notices. In speech, say the plain adjective.
性 (xìng): a quality becomes a noun
Add (xìng) to a two-syllable adjective and you get the quality itself, a thing you can talk about:
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| zhòngyàoxìng | importance (from important) |
| kěnéngxìng | possibility (from possible) |
| ānquánxìng | safety (from safe) |
| bìyàoxìng | necessity (from necessary) |
Most (xìng) words you will meet are built on two-syllable bases, giving three beats. Some older words have one-syllable bases, such as (gèxìng), personality, but you cannot add to any adjective: learn the common ones as words.
A 性 (xìng) noun in a sentence
The result is a plain noun. It can be the subject or the object, and a modifier usually joins it with (de):
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
。 | Zhè zhǒng kěnéngxìng hěn xiǎo. | That possibility is small |
。 | Dàjiā dōu zhīdào jiàoyù de zhòngyàoxìng. | Everyone knows how important education is |
。 | Zhè zhǒng chē de ānquánxìng hěn gāo. | This kind of car is very safe |
When you count or point at a (xìng) noun, (zhǒng), kind, is the usual measure word: 。 (Yǒu liǎng zhǒng kěnéngxìng.), there are two possibilities. Technical writing also drops the (de) after a noun: (qìchē ānquánxìng), car safety.
Say it short, write it long
The trap is bringing the written noun into speech. All four are correct; only the plain ones sound normal at dinner:
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
。 | Zhè zhǒng chē hěn ānquán. | This car is very safe (speech) |
。 | Zhè zhǒng chē de ānquánxìng hěn gāo. | This car's safety is high (writing) |
。 | Jiàoyù hěn zhòngyào. | Education matters (speech) |
。 | Wǒmen yào kàndào jiàoyù de zhòngyàoxìng. | We must see how education matters (writing) |
If you can say it with an adjective, say it with the adjective. Save the noun for writing, or for when the quality itself is what you are arguing about. A few (xìng) nouns have made it into everyday speech, above all (kěnéngxìng): 。 (Kěnéngxìng bú dà.), not very likely, is heard all the time.
化 (huà): a state becomes a process
化 (huà) means "become X" or "make something X". It takes one-syllable bases as well as two:
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
化 | xiàndàihuà | modernise, modernisation (from modern) |
化 | quánqiúhuà | globalisation (from global) |
简化 | jiǎnhuà | simplify (from simple) |
化 | měihuà | beautify, prettify (from beautiful) |
化 | lǜhuà | plant greenery (from green) |
In 简化 (jiǎnhuà) the base is the 简 (jiǎn) of (jiǎndān), simple: one syllable gives a two-beat word.
One 化 (huà) word, four jobs
Mandarin does not mark whether a 化 (huà) word is a verb or a noun. Its place in the sentence does:
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
简化。 | Qǐng jiǎnhuà zhège jùzi. | Please simplify this sentence |
化。 | Hěn duō gōngzuò dōu zìdònghuà le. | A lot of work is automated now |
化。 | Quánqiúhuà dàilái le hěn duō biànhuà. | Globalisation has brought much change |
化。 | Zhè shì yí ge xiàndàihuà de chéngshì. | This is a modern city |
Row by row: a verb with an object, a change of state with (le), a noun as the subject, and a modifier with (de). Some 化 (huà) verbs take an object, as 简化 (jiǎnhuà) and 化 (měihuà) do; others, such as 化 (quánqiúhuà), are mostly nouns. Learn each with an example.
Suffix, or part of the root?
Both characters are also ordinary parts of everyday words. Take the last character off: if what is left means the quality, it was a suffix.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Suffix? |
|---|---|---|---|
| zhòngyàoxìng | importance | yes |
简化 | jiǎnhuà | simplify | yes |
| wénhuà | culture | no |
| biànhuà | change | no |
| huàxué | chemistry | no |
| xìngbié | sex, gender | no |
文 (wén) alone does not mean anything like "culture", so (wénhuà) is one word, not 文 + 化.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
。 | 。 | after (hěn), use the adjective |
简。 | 简化。 | a process is 化 (huà) |
化。 | 。 | a quality is (xìng) |
What to do next
- Do the drill below.
- Take three adjectives you know and find their
(xìng) nouns in a dictionary; note which ones really exist. - Then read four-character idioms, the other mark of written Mandarin.