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自重 (zì chóng) — to conduct oneself with dignity, to behave with self-respect

Definition

自重 (zìzhòng) means to conduct oneself with dignity — it is a verb about behaving with self-respect, not a noun for physical weight. Often used as a reminder or admonition ('请自重' = 'please behave with dignity').

verb
to conduct oneself with dignityto behave with self-respect

Examples

  • 自重，。
    Zuò rén bì xū zì chóng, bù néng wèi le lì yì shī qù yuán zé.
    A person must conduct themselves with dignity and cannot lose principles for profit.
  • 自重，。
    Tā zài gōng gòng chǎng hé zǒng shì hěn zì chóng, cóng bù shī lǐ.
    He always conducts himself with dignity in public and never loses decorum.
  • ，自重，。
    Zuò wéi lǎo shī, nǐ yào zì chóng, gěi xué shēng zuò gè hǎo bǎng yàng.
    As a teacher, you must conduct yourself with dignity and set a good example for students.

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
重zhòngdignified

“自” means oneself and “重” means dignified, describing oneself carrying dignity.

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
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
東
東dōng重zhòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

Open 重 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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