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自在 (zì zai) — (feeling) at ease, free and relaxed, comfortable (in one's own skin)

Definition

自在 describes an inner feeling of being at ease and free from worry — more about mindset than physical comfort (that's 舒服/舒适) and more personal-inner than 自由 (external freedom).

adjective
(feeling) at easefree and relaxedcomfortable (in one's own skin)

Examples

  • 自在。
    Tuì xiū yǐ hòu tā guò dé fēi cháng zì zai.
    He lives very comfortably after retiring.
  • ，自在。
    Zài zhè ge xiǎo chéng shì zhù zhe, xīn lǐ hěn zì zai.
    Living in this small city, I feel very at ease inside.
  • 自在，。
    Tā zì zai dì zuò zài chuāng biān hē chá, yì liǎn mǎn zú.
    She sat comfortably by the window drinking tea, with a satisfied look.

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zìoneself
在zàibe

自 means oneself, and 在 suggests being, so the meaning is feeling at ease.

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 →

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

The early form of 在 used 才 for its sound; a second sound part 士 was added later, and that 士 became the 土 seen in 在.

Open 在 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Emotions & Feelings5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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