Refers to a person's innate character or fundamental disposition, often with a nuance of deep-rooted or unchangeable nature. Compare 根性 (こんじょう), which emphasizes willpower or guts.
The reading しょうね probably developed from the Sino-Japanese しょうこん. 性, “nature,” and 根, “root,” give the idea of a person’s fundamental disposition; the older しょうこん also survives with the sense “perseverance.”
