暗自 (àn zì) — inwardly; secretly; to oneself

Definition

An adverb meaning 'inwardly, secretly, to oneself' — it stresses a feeling or decision kept private, hidden from others. Pairs with mental/decision verbs like 决定, 盘算, 高兴.

adverb
inwardlysecretlyto oneself

Examples

  • 暗自。
    Tā àn zì xià dìng jué xīn yào gǎi biàn zì jǐ.
    He secretly made up his mind to change himself.
  • ，暗自。
    Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā àn zì gāo xìng le hǎo jiǔ.
    Upon hearing this news, she was inwardly happy for a long time.
  • ，暗自。
    Tā biǎo miàn shàng bú dòng shēng sè, xīn lǐ àn zì pán suan zhe xià yí bù.
    Outwardly calm, he was secretly calculating his next move.

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
日日rìsun
Sound part声符shēngfú
音
音yīn暗àn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

暗 pairs 日 (sun) with 音, which gives the sound.

Open 暗 →

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.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.