自理 (zì lǐ) — to take care of oneself; to be self-sufficient | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

自理 means handling your own daily needs (eating, dressing, finances) on your own. It's about practical self-sufficiency, not the willpower of 自律 or the independence in choices of 自主.

verb

to take care of oneselfto be self-sufficient

Examples

，自理。
Tā suī rán nián jì xiǎo, dàn yǐ jīng néng wán quán zì lǐ le.
Although he is young, he can already fully take care of himself.
，自理。
Zhè cì lǚ xíng bù bāo kuò yǐn shí, dà jiā yào zì lǐ.
This trip does not include food and drink; everyone needs to provide for themselves.
自理。
Zài guó wài liú xué yào xué huì zì lǐ.
When studying abroad, you need to learn to take care of yourself.

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.

理lǐmanage

“自” (self) and “理” (manage) combine to mean the self manages 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.

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

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

里

里lǐ理lǐ

Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Daily Routine

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