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隐私 (yǐn sī) — privacy; private/personal matters

Definition

隐私 is the noun for 'privacy' as a right or personal domain (e.g. 隐私权). 私人 is an adjective meaning 'private/personal'; 秘密 is a secret you keep; 私事 means one's private affairs.

noun
privacyprivate/personal matters

Examples

  • 隐私。
    Zài wǎng shàng yào zhù yì bǎo hù gè rén yǐn sī.
    You should be careful to protect your personal privacy online.
  • 隐私。
    Tā hěn bù xǐ huan bié rén dǎ tīng tā de yǐn sī.
    He really doesn't like others prying into his private matters.
  • 。
    Zhè ge xīn fǎ lǜ jiā qiáng le gōng mín de yǐn sī quán.
    This new law strengthens citizens' right to privacy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

隐yǐnhidden
私sīprivate

隐 means hidden and 私 means private, so 隐私 covers private matters kept hidden.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 隱; 隐 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
㥯
㥯㥯隱yǐn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 隱 pairs 阝 (阜) with 㥯 to give the sound; the simplified 隐 is a shorthand, so its right side is not 㥯.

Open 隐 →

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
禾禾hé
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.

Open 私 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Rights & Citizenship5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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