TongTong
Sign in

自食其果 (zì shí qí guǒ) — to suffer the consequences of one's own actions; to reap what one has sown (negative)

Definition

Literally 'eat one's own fruit' — a literary idiom meaning you face the bad results of your own wrongdoing, similar to 自作自受 but more formal and written.

idiom
to suffer the consequences of one's own actionsto reap what one has sown (negative)

Examples

  • ，自食其果。
    Tā qī piàn le tài duō rén, zuì hòu zì shí qí guǒ.
    He deceived too many people and ended up reaping what he had sown.
  • ，自食其果。
    Rú guǒ xiàn zài bù nǔ lì, jiāng lái jiù huì zì shí qí guǒ.
    If you don't work hard now, you will suffer the consequences in the future.
  • 自食其果。
    Nà xiē wéi fǎ de rén zuì zhōng dōu huì zì shí qí guǒ.
    Those who break the law will eventually reap what they have sown.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

自食eat by oneself
自zìoneself食shíeat
偏正Modifier + head
其果its fruit
其qíits果guǒfruit
偏正Modifier + head

The 'oneself', 'eat', 'its', and 'fruit' parts build the idea of suffering one's own consequences.

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.

果 originally drew fruits hanging on a tree.

Open 果 →
Appears in
Cause, Effect & LogicIdioms & Set Phrases

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.