自找 (zì zhǎo) — to bring (trouble, hardship) upon oneself; to ask for it

Definition

A reflexive verb meaning 'to bring (trouble) on oneself' — you cause the bad result yourself, so no one else is to blame. Commonly used in fixed phrases like 自找麻烦 ('ask for trouble') and 自找苦吃.

verb
to bring (trouble, hardship) upon oneselfto ask for it

Examples

  • 。
    Nǐ zhè yàng zuò wán quán shì zì zhǎo má fan.
    Doing this is just asking for trouble.
  • ，自找。
    Tā bù hǎo hǎo xué xí, kǎo shì bù jí gé yě shì zì zhǎo de.
    He didn't study hard, so he only has himself to blame for failing the exam.
  • ，自找。
    Nǐ zài bù tīng cóng quàn gào, jiù shì zì zhǎo kǔ chī.
    If you still don't listen to the advice, you're asking for hardship.

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
找zhǎoseek

自 points to oneself, 找 means seek: trouble is sought by 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 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
戈
戈gē找zhǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

找 pairs 扌 (hand) with 戈 as a sound part. The idea that it shows a hand looking for a halberd is only a memory trick.

Open 找 →

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