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坐享其成 (zuò xiǎng qí chéng) — to enjoy the fruits of others' labor without working for them

Definition

A formal chengyu meaning 'to reap benefits without contributing any effort yourself' — always negative in tone, criticizing freeloaders. The pattern literally pairs 'sit (坐) and enjoy (享)' with 'its (其) results (成)'.

idiom
to enjoy the fruits of others' labor without working for them

Examples

  • 坐享其成，。
    Tā zǒng shì xiǎng zuò xiǎng qí chéng, cóng bú zì jǐ nǔ lì.
    He always wants to enjoy the fruits of others' labor and never works hard himself.
  • 坐享其成，。
    Gōng sī de yì xiē yuán gōng zhī xiǎng zuò xiǎng qí chéng, dǎo zhì tuán duì xiào lǜ xià jiàng.
    Some employees in the company just want to enjoy the fruits of others' labor, causing the team's efficiency to drop.
  • 坐享其成，。
    Wǒ men bù néng zuò xiǎng qí chéng, měi gè rén dōu yǒu yì wù gòng xiàn lì liàng.
    We cannot enjoy the fruits of others' labor; everyone has the duty to contribute.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The form 坐 combines 留, 'to stay', and 土, 'ground'.

Open 坐 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

享 was a drawing of an ancestral shrine.

Open 享 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The modern form 其 comes from an early drawing of a basket, with a stand added underneath.

Open 其 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戊戊wù
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng成chéng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

成 puts 戊, a weapon, beside 丁, which gives the sound. The weapon part relates to protection, as in the old sense of city walls.

Open 成 →
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