Chinese word

亲自

Pronunciation

Pinyinqīn zì

Meaning

  • adverbpersonally

Example

我亲自去见他说清楚。wǒ qīn zì qù jiàn tā shuō qīng chǔ

I go see him myself and make the matter clear to him.

Illustration for 亲自 (personally)

More examples

他亲自来帮忙。tā qīn zì lái bāng máng

He came in person to help.

Core concept

The person concerned steps forward to handle or attend to something directly instead of leaving it to someone else.

Common phrases

  • 亲自去qīn zì qù

    go in person

  • 亲自来qīn zì lái

    come in person

  • 亲自参加qīn zì cān jiā

    participate in person

Similar words

亲手qīn shǒu: Performing an action oneself through direct use of one's hands.
亲身qīn shēn: Being directly involved in something and experiencing it personally.
亲眼qīn yǎn: Observing something firsthand with one's own eyes.

Definition in Chinese

用于表示说话人或第三者亲自承担、处理某事，突出本人直接参与或到场的事实。yòng yú biǎo shì shuō huà rén huò dì sān zhě qīn zì chéng dān chú lǐ mǒu shì tū chū běn rén zhí jiē cān yù huò dào chǎng de shì shí

Word origin

亲自 (qīnzì, "personally") combines 亲 (qīn, "personal") + 自 (zì, "self") to mark action carried out by the person concerned.

Usage tips

  • English personally often marks a speaker's opinion, whereas this adverb identifies the person who carries out an action, so the two are not interchangeable in every sentence.

Other meanings

  • in personadverb

Opposites

  • 间接地jiàn jiē dìindirectlyadverb

Word lists with this word