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食色性也

Mandarin · pinyin shí sè xìng yě

Appetite and lust are only natural (Mencius 6A:4).
By nature we desire food and sex.

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Characters in this entry

食: shí · eat; meal; food; Kangxi radical 184
色: sè · color, tint, hue, shade; form, body; beauty, desire for beauty; Kangxi radical 139
性: xìng · nature, character, sex
也: yě · also; classical final particle of strong affirmation or identity

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Mandarin tones

2–4–4–3 · shi2 se4 xing4 ye3

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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.

phrase

To enjoy food and delight in sex is nature.

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

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