…性: the '-ness' suffix

性 at the end turns a quality into a thing, like Russian '-ность': 良性 is 'benign' (said of a lump), 记性 is 'memory'. Doctors contrast 急性 'acute' with 慢性 'chronic'. When you meet an unfamiliar word ending in 性, read it as a property. Mistake: 急性病 is not an 'urgent illness' but an 'acute' one: it comes on suddenly.

Examples

• 急性病来得快，所以一定要及时去看医生。 Jíxìngbìng lái de kuài, suǒyǐ yídìng yào jíshí qù kàn yīshēng. Acute illnesses come on quickly, so you should see a doctor as soon as possible.
• 医生看了检查结果，说这个小肿块是良性的。 Yīshēng kàn le jiǎnchá jiéguǒ, shuō zhège xiǎo zhǒngkuài shì liángxìng de. The doctor looked at the test results and said the little lump was benign.
• 多运动，睡得好，心情也好，这是一个良性循环。 Duō yùndòng, shuì de hǎo, xīnqíng yě hǎo, zhè shì yí ge liángxìng xúnhuán. Moving more, sleeping well and feeling good — that is what a virtuous circle is.

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