自言自语 meaning in English

zìyán-zìyǔ

(idiom) to talk to oneself; to think aloud; to soliloquize

HSK 6Traditional 自言自語28 strokes

Meaning of 自言自语

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

zìyánzìyǔ

(idiom) to talk to oneself; to think aloud; to soliloquize

How to use 自言自语

This idiom describes someone talking quietly to themselves, often while thinking, worrying, or working something out. It usually works as a verb phrase or as an adverbial before another verb. Example: 他一边走一边自言自语。(Tā yìbiān zǒu yìbiān zìyán-zìyǔ.) He talked to himself as he walked.

The pattern is 自 (zì, self) twice, paired with 言 (yán, speech) and 语 (yǔ, words). Read it as "self speaks, self words": you are the speaker and the only listener.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 自言自话 or swap the order to 自语自言. The fixed form is always 自言自语, with 言 first and 语 second.

自言自语 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

“我wǒ该gāi做zuò什shén么me呢ne？”我wǒ自zì言yán自zì语yǔ道dào。

"What shall I do?" I said to myself.

她tā自zì言yán自zì语yǔ地dì说shuō：「我wǒ接jiē著zhù该gāi到dào哪nǎ儿ér去qù呢ne？」

She said to herself, "Where shall I go next?"

汤tāng姆mǔ在zài自zì言yán自zì语yǔ。

Tom's talking to himself.

老lǎo人rén时shí常cháng自zì言yán自zì语yǔ。

Old people often talk to themselves.

我wǒ祖zǔ父fù一yí个gè人rén的de时shí候hòu，有yǒu时shí会huì自zì言yán自zì语yǔ。

My grandfather sometimes talks to himself when he's alone.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

自 zì · self · 6 strokes

言 yán · words · 7 strokes

自 zì · self · 6 strokes

语 yǔ · words · 9 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 自言自语.

外语	wàiyǔ	foreign language
汉语	Hànyǔ	Chinese language
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)
英语	Yīngyǔ	English (language)
语言	yǔyán	language
自行车	zìxíngchē	bicycle; bike
大自然	dàzìrán	nature (the natural world)
词语	cíyǔ	word (general term including monosyllables through to short phrases); term (e.g. technical
自然	zìrán	nature; natural
自从	zìcóng	since (a time); ever since

Questions about 自言自语

What does 自言自语 mean?

自言自语 (zìyán-zìyǔ) means "(idiom) to talk to oneself; to think aloud; to soliloquize".

How do you write 自言自语?

自言自语 is made of 4 characters: 自 (6 strokes), 言 (7 strokes), 自 (6 strokes), 语 (9 strokes). That is 28 strokes in total.

Is 自言自语 an HSK word?

Yes. 自言自语 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 自言自语 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 自言自语 is written 自言自語.

Can 自言自语 be used with 地 before a verb?

Yes. 自言自语地说 (zìyán-zìyǔ de shuō) means "to say to oneself." It is common in stories and descriptions of a character's behavior.

Does 自言自语 sound negative?

Not necessarily. It simply describes the action. Depending on context it can suggest someone is lost in thought, nervous, or a little odd, but it is not an insult by itself.