毛遂自荐 (Máo Suì zì jiàn) — to volunteer one's services; to recommend oneself for a task

Definition

Idiom meaning 'to volunteer oneself for a task' or 'to step forward and offer one's services'. Conveys active, bold self-recommendation — stronger than just 报名, which is neutral enrolment.

idiom
to volunteer one's servicesto recommend oneself for a task

Examples

  • ，毛遂自荐。
    Tā hěn yǒu xìn xīn, zhǔ dòng Máo Suì zì jiàn cān jiā zhè cì bǐ sài.
    He was very confident and proactively volunteered to take part in this competition.
  • ，毛遂自荐，。
    Zài qiú zhí shí, tā yǒng gǎn dì Máo Suì zì jiàn, zuì zhōng huò dé le zhè ge zhí wèi.
    When job hunting, he bravely volunteered himself and ultimately got the position.
  • ，毛遂自荐。
    Méi yǒu rén yuàn yì zuò zhè ge rèn wu, suǒ yǐ tā jué dìng Máo Suì zì jiàn.
    No one was willing to do this task, so he decided to volunteer.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

毛 is drawn as a feather or hair, with its strokes tracing the shape of the feather or hair.

Open 毛 →

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
辵辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
㒸
㒸㒸遂suì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

遂 is made of 辵 and 㒸; 㒸 gives the sound, and the original form 㒸 does not refer to pigs.

Open 遂 →

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 薦; 荐 is its simplified writing.

  • 艸艸cǎograss
  • 廌廌zhìwild beast

The traditional form 薦 combines 艸 (grass) and 廌 (wild beast) to show a pasture. It was later borrowed for its sound to mean 'recommend'.

Open 荐 →

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