私用 (sī yòng) — personal use (of public property, funds, etc.); unauthorized use; misappropriation

Definition

私用 is the formal noun for using public or shared resources for one's own purposes — 'personal use' that is typically unauthorized. Common in official/disciplinary contexts (公车私用, 公款私用); not everyday vocabulary.

noun
personal use (of public property, funds, etc.)unauthorized usemisappropriation

Examples

  • 私用。
    Gōng chē sī yòng shì wéi fǎn guī dìng de xíng wéi.
    Using a public vehicle for personal use is a violation of regulations.
  • 私用。
    Tā yīn wèi gōng kuǎn sī yòng bèi kāi chú le.
    He was fired for using public funds for personal purposes.
  • 私用。
    Gōng sī yán jìn rèn hé xíng shì de sī yòng.
    The company strictly prohibits any form of unauthorized personal use.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

私sīprivate
用yònguse

“私” (private) and “用” (use) combine to mean use for oneself, especially unauthorized use.

Characters in this word

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
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
厶
厶sī私sī
Same sound today

私 combines 禾 and 厶; 厶 originally represented the word, and 禾 was added later.

Open 私 →

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

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →

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