性

It carries meanings such as:

“nature, disposition, temperament” (성품)

“characteristic, quality” (성질)

“gender/sex” (성별)

A phono-semantic compound made up of:

心 (심, “heart/mind”) - gives the meaning (relating to the mind, emotions, or inner nature);

生 (생, “to be born”) - provides the sound.

The combination suggests that 性 originally referred to the innate qualities or nature one is “born with” (生) that reside in the heart/mind (心).