TongTong
Sign in

自制 (zì zhì) — to control oneself; self-restraint; homemade; made by oneself (of food, products, etc.)

Definition

自制 has two unrelated senses: as a verb, 'to control oneself / self-restraint' (lost his 自制 and started shouting); as an adjective, 'homemade / DIY' (mom's 自制 cake). The two meanings come from different characters despite the same pinyin.

verb
to control oneselfself-restrainthomemademade by oneself (of food, products, etc.)

Examples

  • 自制，。
    Tā shī qù le zì zhì, dà shēng zhēng chǎo qǐ lái.
    He lost his self-control and started arguing loudly.
  • 自制，。
    Zhè shì mā ma zì zhì de dàn gāo, fēi cháng hǎo chī.
    This is Mom's homemade cake; it's very delicious.
  • ，自制。
    Tā hěn nán kòng zhì chōng dòng, zǒng shì wú fǎ zì zhì.
    He finds it hard to control his impulses and often cannot control himself.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

自zìself
制zhìcontrol

自 means self and 制 means control, together expressing holding oneself in check.

Characters in this word

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

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

The form 制 pairs 朱 (tree) with 刀 (knife), showing the act of cutting a tree.

Open 制 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.