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自保 (zì bǎo) — self-preservation, self-protection (instinct or ability); self-insurance (financial practice)

Definition

A formal noun meaning 'self-preservation' (the instinct or act of protecting oneself) and, in business contexts, 'self-insurance'. Not for everyday 'protect yourself' speech — say 保护自己 instead.

noun
self-preservationself-protection (instinct or ability)self-insurance (financial practice)

Examples

  • 自保。
    Dòng wù de zì bǎo běn néng shì fēi cháng qiáng liè de.
    Animals have a very strong instinct for self-preservation.
  • 自保。
    Tā xué xí le yì xiē zì bǎo jì qiǎo lái bǎo hù zì jǐ.
    He learned some self-protection techniques to protect himself.
  • 自保。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī cǎi yòng zì bǎo cè lüè jiǎn shǎo bǎo xiǎn chéng běn.
    This company adopts a self-insurance strategy to reduce insurance costs.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

自zìoneself
保bǎoprotect

自 means oneself and 保 means protect, so the sense is oneself protecting oneself.

Characters in this word

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.

保 originally showed a person 人 carrying a child 子 on their back, which led to the sense of protecting.

Open 保 →
Appears in
Safety & Danger

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