身不由己 (shēn bù yóu jǐ) — unable to act on one's own; involuntarily; not of one's own volition

Definition

Examples

• 在那种环境下，他身不由己地答应了对方的要求。
  Zài nà zhǒng huán jìng xià, tā shēn bù yóu jǐ dì dā ying le duì fāng de yāo qiú.
  In that kind of environment, he agreed to the other party's demands involuntarily.
• 工作压力太大，他常常感到身不由己。
  Gōng zuò yā lì tài dà, tā cháng cháng gǎn dào shēn bù yóu jǐ.
  The work pressure is too great; he often feels he has no freedom to act independently.
• 她看到那张旧照片，身不由己地流下了眼泪。
  Tā kàn dào nà zhāng jiù zhào piàn, shēn bù yóu jǐ dì liú xià le yǎn lèi.
  When she saw that old photo, tears fell involuntarily.