舍己为人 (shě jǐ wèi rén) — to sacrifice one's own interests for the sake of others; altruistic

Definition

Idiom meaning 'sacrifice one's own interests for others' — praising someone for putting others first. Note the tones: 舍 (shě) and 为 (wèi) here, not the more common shè and wéi.

idiom
to sacrifice one's own interests for the sake of othersaltruistic

Examples

  • 舍己为人，。
    Tā yì shēng shě jǐ wèi rén, shēn shòu dà jiā zūn jìng.
    He sacrificed his own interests for others throughout his life and was deeply respected by everyone.
  • 舍己为人。
    Zhè zhǒng shě jǐ wèi rén de jīng shén zhí dé wǒ men xué xí.
    This spirit of sacrificing oneself for others is worth learning from.
  • ，舍己为人，。
    Zài wēi nàn shí kè, tā xuǎn zé le shě jǐ wèi rén, bǎo hù le tā rén.
    In the moment of danger, he chose to sacrifice himself for others and protected them.

Origin

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú舍shè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

舍 is 余 plus 口. 余 was the original picture for this word, and 口 was later added to distinguish it.

Open 舍 →

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

The 己 shape is a picture of a silk rope used to bind objects.

Open 己 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 為; 为 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 為 showed a hand holding an elephant; the simplified 为 is a later shorthand.

Open 为 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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