感性 (gǎnxìng)

感性 describes someone or something that is emotional, intuitive, or driven by feeling and perception rather than logic and reason; it can also refer to sensory or perceptual knowledge as opposed to rational/analytical thinking.

Meanings

[adjective] emotional; feeling-driven; intuitive; sentimental
[noun] emotionality; perceptual knowledge; sensory cognition (philosophy)

Example Sentences

她是一个非常感性的人，看电影时经常会被感人的情节感动得流泪。 Tā shì yī gè fēicháng gǎnxìng de rén, kàn diànyǐng shí jīngcháng huì bèi gǎnrén de qíngjié gǎndòng de liú lèi. She is a very emotional person and is often moved to tears by touching scenes when watching movies.

在做重大决策时，我们既需要理性的分析，也需要感性的判断。 Zài zuò zhòngdà juécè shí, wǒmen jì xūyào lǐxìng de fēnxī, yě xūyào gǎnxìng de pànduàn. When making major decisions, we need both rational analysis and emotional judgment.

艺术创作往往需要丰富的感性体验，才能打动观众的心灵。 Yìshù chuàngzuò wǎngwǎng xūyào fēngfù de gǎnxìng tǐyàn, cái néng dǎdòng guānzhòng de xīnlíng. Artistic creation often requires rich emotional experience in order to touch the hearts of the audience.

他的文章充满了感性色彩，读来令人心潮澎湃。 Tā de wénzhāng chōngmǎnle gǎnxìng sècǎi, dú lái lìng rén xīncháo péngpài. His essays are filled with emotional color, and reading them makes one's heart surge with feeling.

哲学上，感性认识是人们通过感觉器官直接获得的对事物的初步了解。 Zhéxué shàng, gǎnxìng rènshi shì rénmen tōngguò gǎnjué qìguān zhíjiē huòdé de duì shìwù de chūbù liǎojiě. Philosophically, sensory knowledge is the initial understanding of things that people gain directly through their sense organs.

她很感性，对音乐、诗歌等艺术形式有着天生的敏感度。 Tā hěn gǎnxìng, duì yīnyuè, shīgē děng yìshù xíngshì yǒuzhe tiānshēng de mǐngǎndù. She is very emotional and has a natural sensitivity to art forms such as music and poetry.

Collocations

Collocation	Meaning
感性认识	perceptual/sensory knowledge
感性的人	an emotional person
感性色彩	emotional/sentimental tone
感性与理性	emotion and reason; feeling and logic
感性思维	emotional/intuitive thinking
充满感性	full of emotion/sentimentality

Usage Notes

感性 is directly contrasted with 理性 (rational; reason-based) in Chinese thought and everyday language. A person described as 感性 is intuitive and emotionally responsive, while someone described as 理性 is analytical and controlled. Neither is inherently negative; both are seen as necessary qualities.

In a philosophical context, 感性认识 (sensory/perceptual knowledge) contrasts with 理性认识 (rational knowledge), referring to the Marxist epistemological distinction between immediate sensory experience and abstract reasoning.

Memory Hook

感 (feeling/sense) + 性 (nature/character) — 感性 is having a nature dominated by feeling and sensation.