Meaning of 亲自
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- personally
- in person
- oneself
How to use 亲自
亲自 goes before a verb to stress that a person did something themselves instead of sending someone else. It often sounds respectful when used about bosses, parents, or important people. 老板亲自来了。(Lǎobǎn qīnzì lái le.) The boss came in person.
亲 (qīn) means close or related, as in 父亲 (fùqīn) father, and 自 (zì) means self, as in 自己 (zìjǐ). Doing something 亲自 means doing it with your own close hands, yourself.
Common mistake: Learners often use 亲自 like 自己 (zìjǐ) as a pronoun, saying 我爱亲自 instead of 我爱自己. 亲自 is only an adverb and must come before a verb, as in 我亲自做 (wǒ qīnzì zuò).
亲自 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
亲 qīn · parent · 9 strokes
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- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
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- 9
自 zì · self · 6 strokes
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- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 亲自.
| 自己 | zìjǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 自由 | zìyóu | freedom; liberty; free; unrestricted |
| 来自 | láizì | to come from (a place); From: (in email header) |
| 自行车 | zìxíngchē | bicycle; bike |
| 大自然 | dàzìrán | nature (the natural world) |
| 父亲 | fùqīn | father; also pr. [fu4 qin5] |
| 母亲 | mǔqīn | mother |
| 自然 | zìrán | nature; natural |
| 自从 | zìcóng | since (a time); ever since |
| 自动 | zìdòng | automatic; voluntarily |
| 亲人 | qīnrén | one's close relatives |
| 各自 | gèzì | each; respective |
Questions about 亲自
What does 亲自 mean?
亲自 (qīnzì) means "personally; in person" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 亲自?
亲自 is made of 2 characters: 亲 (9 strokes), 自 (6 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 亲自 an HSK word?
Yes. 亲自 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 亲自 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 亲自 is written 親自.
What is the difference between 亲自 and 自己 before a verb?
自己 simply means by oneself or without help, as in 我自己做饭 (I cook by myself). 亲自 adds a sense of personal involvement or importance, often when you could have had someone else do it, as in 他亲自给我打电话 (He called me himself).
Can I use 亲自 about myself?
Yes, but it can sound like you are stressing your own effort, for example 我亲自去看了 (I went and saw it myself). It is more common, and more polite, when describing what someone else did for you.