4

I have seen 品格,品质,人品,人格,素质 all defined as moral quality or character, though I'm guessing there's more nuance in the way they are used. Are these words interchangeable or do they describe different things? What is the connotation of each? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide

2
  • bkrs: 品格 1) one's character and morals 2) quality and style (of literary/artistic works) 1) 指物品的质量规格。 2) 指文学艺术作品的质量、格调。 3) 品性;性格。 4) 指官品,爵秩。 #9434 品质 1) character 2) quality 1) 人的行为、作风所表现的思想、认识、品性等的本质。 2) 物品的质量。#3485 人品 1) quality of sb.'s character 2) coll. looks; bearing 1) 人的品格。 2) 人的仪表。 #12948 人格 1) character; moral quality; personality 2) human dignity 有损于人格的事儿不能做。 One must not do things that damage human dignity. 1) 人的性情、气质、能力等特徵的总和。 2) 人的道德品质。 3) 谓人按照法律、道德或其他社会准则应享有的权利或资格。#3249
    – user6065
    Commented Aug 19, 2018 at 23:15
  • 素质 1) quality 2) psy. diathesis 1) 白色质地。 2) 白晰的容色。 3) 事物本来的性质。 4) 指人的神经系统和感觉器官的先天特点。亦指素养。 #1023
    – user6065
    Commented Aug 19, 2018 at 23:16

3 Answers 3

2

It would try to explain the difference in English on my best and I will include the common meanings.

品格

It means generally the way a person deals or reacts with the outside world, it could also refer to the quality and character of a literature work. It could also mean the quality of a product, but people often use the word 品质 for this meaning.

品质

It refers the quality of a product or the quality of a person's morality, IQ, EQ, health and so on.

人品

It means personality, however, more on the degree of a person's morality in the society. Although, recently, people has been using 人品 as luck, this is not yet officially accepted as a meaning for this word.

人格

This means personality.

素质

It refers to the quality of a person's behavior.

1

@zyy's answer is in general very good.

just to add to some minor points.

人格 in non-academic texts is also used interchangeably with the former 3, e.g. 人格高尚

素质 can mean both how well your certain skill/ability is or how much you are civilized.

0

They are both to describe a person, it seems similar at first glance.

品质

If you say someone's 品质 is bad, means he likes to do bad things, like steal, betrayal. Or, a honest one is a 品质很好的人.

You can also describe a product.

品格

It is a higher standard than 品质. You can say that a man is 品质好的人 if he never did anything bad, but if he did some good things on his own initiative, he would be a 品格高尚的人.

人品

It is almost same with 品质, except used for human only.

人格

It is roughly same with 品格. But can be used in science, a man with multiple personality disorder is describe as 多重人格, not 多重品格. If we say someone 人格缺陷, that means he has a illness in medical science.

素质

It is related to manner and education. Talking loudly and spit is 没有素质.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.