Meaning of 自我
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- the self; oneself; self-
- (psychology) ego
How to use 自我
自我 is a formal word, often used as a prefix-like element before two-syllable verbs, as in 自我介绍 (self-introduction), 自我保护 (self-protection), and 自我批评 (self-criticism). It also appears as a noun meaning the self or ego. Example: 请大家做一下自我介绍。(Qǐng dàjiā zuò yíxià zìwǒ jièshào.) Everyone, please introduce yourselves.
自 (zì) means self, and 我 (wǒ) means I or me. Put "self" and "me" together and you get the idea of the self, the ego.
Common mistake: Learners often use 自我 where 自己 (zìjǐ) is needed. In everyday sentences like "I did it myself" you say 我自己做的, not 我自我做的. 自我 mostly attaches to verbs or acts as an abstract noun.
自我 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
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我 wǒ · I · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 自我.
| 我们 | wǒmen | we; us; ourselves |
| 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) |
| 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 |
Questions about 自我
What does 自我 mean?
自我 (zìwǒ) means "the self; oneself; self-; (psychology) ego" and is used as a pronoun.
How do you write 自我?
自我 is made of 2 characters: 自 (6 strokes), 我 (7 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 自我 an HSK word?
Yes. 自我 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 自我 and 自己?
自己 (zìjǐ) is the everyday reflexive word for oneself and can follow a pronoun, as in 他自己. 自我 is more formal and abstract. It usually forms compounds like 自我介绍 or refers to the self as a concept.
How do you say self-centered using 自我?
You can say 自我中心 (zìwǒ zhōngxīn), often in the phrase 以自我为中心 (yǐ zìwǒ wéi zhōngxīn), meaning to treat oneself as the center. For example, 他太以自我为中心了 means he is too self-centered.