Chinese word

各自为政

Pronunciation

Pinyingè zì wéi zhèng

Meaning

  • idiomact independently

Example

项目里各个部门都各自为政，难以协作。xiàng mù lǐ gè gè bù mén dōu gè zì wéi zhèng nán yǐ xié zuò

In the project, each department acts independently, making collaboration difficult.

Illustration for 各自为政 (act independently)

More examples

如果各级官员都各自为政，改革很难推进。rú guǒ gè jí guān yuán dōu gè zì wéi zhèng gǎi gé hěn nán tuī jìn

If officials at every level do things their own way, it will be hard to advance the reform.

Core concept

A group becomes a set of isolated decision centers with no common direction.

Common phrases

  • 各部门各自为政gè bù mén gè zì wéi zhèng

    each department does things its own way

  • 基层单位各自为政jī céng dān wèi gè zì wéi zhèng

    each grassroots unit does things its own way

Similar words

各自为战gè zì wéi zhàn: Each person or group tackles a problem alone, leaving the overall effort poorly coordinated.
各行其是gè háng qí shì: Each person acts according to personal judgment instead of reaching agreement with others.
各执己见gè zhí jǐ jiàn: Each person argues for a personal opinion as correct and will not compromise.

Definition in Chinese

各自为政 表示各个单位或个人各自按本意处理事务，缺乏协作与统一。gè zì wéi zhèng biǎo shì gè gè dān wèi huò gè rén gè zì àn běn yì chú lǐ shì wù quē fá xié zuò yǔ tǒng yī

Word origin

各 (gè, "each") + 自 (zì, "self") + 为 (wéi, "manage") + 政 (zhèng, "public affairs") form an idiom for separate authorities handling one shared matter on their own.

Usage tips

  • The idiom is common in workplace and project discussions, where it points to an organizational problem rather than simply to personal independence.

Other meanings

  • fail to coordinateidiom
  • do things their own wayidiom

Opposites

Word lists with this word