Definition
擅自 (shànzì) means 'without permission' and emphasizes a deliberate, unauthorized action that violates rules or authority. It is stronger and more formal than 私自 (sīzì), which also implies secrecy, and more specific than 任意 (rènyì 'at will, arbitrarily'), which focuses on acting as one pleases without restriction. Unlike 乱 (luàn 'randomly, indiscriminately'), 擅自 implies a conscious overstep of one's authority.
adverb
without permissionwithout authorizationarbitrarily
Easily confused
- 扇子shàn zisound-alikefan
Examples
- 擅自，。Tā shàn zì líkāi le gōngsī, méiyǒu gàosu rènhé rén.He left the company without permission and didn't tell anyone.
- 擅自，。Qǐng bú yào shàn zì zuò rènhé juédìng, xiān gēn tuánduì tǎolùn.Please don't make any decisions arbitrarily; discuss with the team first.
- 擅自，。Tā shàn zì xiūgǎi le wénjiàn, dǎozhì xiàngmù chūxiàn wèntí.He modified the document without authorization, causing problems for the project.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.