自述 (zì shù) — to recount in one's own words

Definition

自述 means to recount something in your own words — typically one's own experiences, motives, or a personal account. Unlike 自传 (autobiography, a written work), 自述 is the act of telling, not the book itself.

verb
to recount in one's own words

Examples

  • 自述。
    Tā zài huì shàng zì shù le zì jǐ de jīng lì.
    He recounted his own experiences at the meeting.
  • 自述。
    Tā zì shù le shì qing de jīng guò.
    She recounted the process of the incident.
  • 自述。
    Zuò zhě zài xù yán zhōng zì shù le xiě zuò dòng jī.
    The author recounted his writing motivation in the preface.

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
述shùnarrate

自 (self) and 述 (narrate) combine to mean telling about 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
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
朮
朮zhú述shù
Same sound today

述 combines 辵, a walking radical, with 朮, which gives the sound; the walking part belongs to the meaning.

Open 述 →

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