自私 (zì sī) — selfish | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

自私 means 'selfish' — putting one's own interests first at others' expense. It is the direct opposite of 无私 ('selfless / altruistic'), which is the word to use for praise.

adjective

selfish

Examples

，自私。
Tā zǒng shì zhī kǎo lǜ zì jǐ, tài zì sī liǎo.
He only ever thinks of himself — he's too selfish.
自私。
zì sī De rén hěn nán hé bié rén hé zuò.
Selfish people find it hard to cooperate with others.
自私，。
Tā de xíng wéi shí zài tài zì sī liǎo, dà jiā dōu bù xǐ huan tā.
His behavior is really too selfish — nobody likes him.

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.

私sīprivate; selfish

自 points to oneself, and 私 means private or selfish; together they convey being centered on 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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

禾厶私

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

厶

厶sī私sī

Same sound today

私 combines 禾 and 厶; 厶 originally represented the word, and 禾 was added later.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Personality & Traits 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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