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自爱 (zì ài) — self-respect; have regard for oneself

Definition

Self-respect / regard for oneself. 自觉 refers to being conscientious or self-aware; 自爱 is about preserving one's dignity and self-worth.

adjective
self-respecthave regard for oneself

Examples

  • 自爱，。
    Tā hěn zì ài, bú huì zuò huài shì.
    He has self-respect and won't do bad things.
  • 自爱，。
    Yí gè rén yào yǒu zì ài, cái néng dé dào bié rén de zūn zhòng.
    A person must have self-respect to earn others' respect.
  • 自爱。
    zì ài Shì jiàn kāng rén gé de jī chǔ.
    Self-respect is the foundation of a healthy personality.

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
爱àilove

自 refers to oneself and 爱 means to love or care for; together it says caring for 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 愛; 爱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
旡
旡jì愛ài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 愛, an older shape paired 心 (heart) with 旡 as its sound part; later a foot-like 夊 was added below. The simplified 爱 is a later variant that replaces the lower part with 友.

Open 爱 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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