Meaning of 自己
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- oneself; (attributive) one's own
How to use 自己
自己 goes after a pronoun or noun to mean "oneself," or before a noun to mean "one's own." It can also stand alone as "by oneself." Example: 我自己做饭。(Wǒ zìjǐ zuò fàn.) I cook by myself.
自 (zì) means self, and 己 (jǐ) also means self, so 自己 doubles up on the idea of "me, myself." You can see this same sense of self in related words like 自由 (zìyóu), freedom, which is like following yourself.
Common mistake: Learners often write 己 (jǐ) as the similar-looking 已 (yǐ, already) or 巳 (sì). In 己 the last stroke does not touch the top at all. 已 is half closed and 巳 is fully closed.
自己 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.
自 zì · self · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
己 jǐ · self · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 自己.
| 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) |
| 自然 | zìrán | nature; natural |
| 自从 | zìcóng | since (a time); ever since |
| 亲自 | qīnzì | personally; in person |
| 自动 | zìdòng | automatic; voluntarily |
| 各自 | gèzì | each; respective |
| 自身 | zìshēn | itself; oneself |
| 自觉 | zìjué | to realize; to be aware of; to feel that; to be conscious of (sth relating to oneself); re |
| 自主 | zìzhǔ | to act independently; to be autonomous; to be in control of one's own affairs |
Questions about 自己
What does 自己 mean?
自己 (zìjǐ) means "oneself; (attributive) one's own" and is used as a pronoun.
How do you write 自己?
自己 is made of 2 characters: 自 (6 strokes), 己 (3 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 自己 an HSK word?
Yes. 自己 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say "my own" with 自己?
Put 自己 before the noun, usually with 的. For example, 自己的房间 (zìjǐ de fángjiān) means one's own room. You can also say 我自己的书 (wǒ zìjǐ de shū), my own book.
Can 自己 be used without 我, 你 or 他?
Yes. On its own it often means "oneself" or "by yourself," depending on context. For example, 自己来吧 (zìjǐ lái ba) means "help yourself" or "do it yourself."