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任性

Mandarin · pinyin rèn xìng

willful
headstrong
unruly

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Characters in this entry

任: rèn · trust to, rely on, appoint; to bear, duty, office; allow
性: xìng · nature, character, sex

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · ren4 xing4

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2character links1same-tone record

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jam6 sing3

Cantonese word readings for 任性. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adj

willful; headstrong; self-willed; wayward
unrestrained; without border or limit

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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