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自食其力 (zì shí qí lì) — to earn one's own living; to be self-supporting

Definition

An idiom meaning 'to earn one's own living' and stand on one's own feet financially. It emphasizes independence from family or others through one's own work.

idiom
to earn one's own livingto be self-supporting

Examples

  • ，自食其力，。
    Bì yè hòu, tā kāi shǐ zì shí qí lì, bú zài xiàng fù mǔ yào qián.
    After graduation, he started earning his own living and no longer asked his parents for money.
  • 自食其力。
    Wǒ men yīng dāng gǔ lì nián qīng rén xué huì zì shí qí lì.
    We should encourage young people to learn to be self-supporting.
  • ，自食其力。
    Tā suī rán nián jì xiǎo, dàn yǐ jīng néng gòu zì shí qí lì le.
    Although he is young, he is already able to earn his own living.

Origin

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 亼亼jímouth
  • 皀皀jía bowl of rice on a stand

The form behind 食 shows 亼, a mouth, together with 皀, a bowl of rice on a stand. In modern 食, the bowl part has changed shape.

Open 食 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The modern form 其 comes from an early drawing of a basket, with a stand added underneath.

Open 其 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

力 is drawn as either an arm bending out from the side of the body or a wooden plough.

Open 力 →
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Idioms & Set Phrases

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