大我 (dà wǒ) — (philosophy/politics) the collective self; the greater self (as opposed to the individual); (Buddhism) the true self; the universal self

Definition

A philosophical/religious term: the 'greater self' — the collective, universal, or true self, contrasted with 小我 (the individual self).

noun
(philosophy/politics) the collective selfthe greater self (as opposed to the individual)(Buddhism) the true selfthe universal self

Examples

  • ，大我。
    Tā yuàn yì xī shēng xiǎo wǒ, chéng jiù dà wǒ.
    He is willing to sacrifice his individual self to achieve the greater self.
  • ，大我。
    Zài jí tǐ zhōng, dà wǒ de lì yì gāo yú yī qiè.
    In a collective, the interests of the greater self are above all.
  • ，大我。
    Fó jiào rèn wéi, xiū xíng shì wèi le rèn shi dà wǒ.
    Buddhism holds that spiritual practice is for recognizing the true self.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

大dàgreater
我wǒself

“大” conveys the greater or universal scale, and “我” names the self.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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.

The glyph 我 originally drew a trident-like weapon. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write the pronoun "I", so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 我 →

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