自娱 (zì yú) — to amuse oneself; to entertain oneself | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Self-directed leisure verb meaning 'to amuse / entertain oneself' — typically followed by 以 or 通过 + activity (e.g. 自娱以弹琴).

verb

to amuse oneselfto entertain oneself

Examples

自娱。
Tā měi tiān zì yú yǐ tán qín.
He amuses himself every day by playing the piano.
，。
Tuì xiū hòu, tā tōng guò liàn zì lái zì yú.
After retirement, he amuses himself by practicing calligraphy.
自娱。
Zhè zhǒng huó dòng zhǐ zài ràng qún zhòng zì yú.
This activity aims to allow the masses to amuse themselves.

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 means self, and 娱 means amuse; the word says the self entertains itself.

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

Hobbies & Pastimes

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