擅自 (shàn zì) — without permission; without authorization; arbitrarily
Definition
擅自 (shànzì) means doing something 'without authorization' — it implies overstepping one's authority. Stronger than 私自 (which just means 'in private / secretly') and more formal than 任意 ('at one's own will').
adverb
without permissionwithout authorizationarbitrarily
Examples
- 擅自，。Tā shàn zì lí kāi le gōng sī, méi yǒu gào sù rèn hé rén.He left the company without permission and didn't tell anyone.
- 擅自，。Qǐng bú yào shàn zì zuò rèn hé jué dìng, xiān gēn tuán duì tǎo lùn.Please don't make any decisions arbitrarily; discuss with the team first.
- 擅自，。Tā shàn zì xiū gǎi le wén jiàn, dǎo zhì xiàng mù chū xiàn wèn tí.He modified the document without authorization, causing problems for the project.
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