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自如 (zì rú) — (of actions or manner) free and easy, unconstrained; with ease and naturalness

Definition

自如 describes doing something with ease and naturalness, usually after 得 as a complement (应对自如, 演讲自如). Pairs with 潇洒 for effortless grace; distinct from 自由 (freedom) and 流利 (fluent language).

adjective
(of actions or manner) free and easyunconstrainedwith ease and naturalness

Examples

  • 自如。
    Tā zài tái shàng yǎn jiǎng dé fēi cháng zì rú.
    He speaks on stage very naturally and with ease.
  • ，自如。
    Miàn duì wèn tí, tā zǒng néng zì rú yìng duì.
    When faced with problems, he can always handle them with ease.
  • 自如。
    Tā zài zhè jiā gōng sī gōng zuò dé hěn zì rú.
    She works very comfortably and freely at this company.

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zìself
如rúas one wishes

自 points to oneself, and 如 means to be as one wishes; together they convey moving with ease.

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 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ如rú
Same sound today

如 is built from 口 (mouth) for its meaning and 女 (woman) for its sound.

Open 如 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Good & Bad

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