利己 (lì jǐ) — to be selfish, to benefit oneself

Definition

To prioritize one's own benefit — a formal, often critical word for 'selfish' behavior, as opposed to 利他 (benefiting others).

verb

to be selfishto benefit oneself

利己。
Tā zuò rèn hé shì dōu zhī kǎo lǜ lì jǐ.
He only considers benefiting himself in everything he does.
利己，。
Zhè zhǒng xíng wéi tài lì jǐ le, bù kǎo lǜ bié rén.
This kind of behavior is too selfish — it doesn't consider others.
，。
Tā zài zhè jiàn shì shàng lì le jǐ, què sǔn hài le tuán duì.
He benefited himself in this matter but harmed the team.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

利lìbenefit

己jǐoneself

利 means to benefit and 己 means oneself, so the idea is to benefit oneself.

Characters in this word

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

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

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.