Chinese word

擅自

Pronunciation

Pinyinshàn zì

Meaning

  • adverbwithout permission

Example

我们擅自进入了他的房间，结果被批评了。wǒ men shàn zì jìn rù le tā de fáng jiān jié guǒ bèi pī píng le

We entered his room without permission and were criticized as a result.

Illustration for 擅自 (without permission)

More examples

他因擅自进入禁区被警方带走。tā yīn shàn zì jìn rù jìn qū bèi jǐng fāng dài zǒu

Because he entered the restricted area without permission, the police took him away.

Core concept

A person crosses the boundary of someone else's authority and acts as if personal choice were enough.

Common phrases

  • 擅自进入shàn zì jìn rù

    enter without permission

  • 擅自拆除shàn zì chāi chú

    tear down without permission

  • 擅自发布shàn zì fā bù

    make public without permission

Similar words

私自sī zì: Acting on personal judgment without telling others, often secretly or without proper notice.
未经许可wèi jīng xú kě: Doing something without first obtaining the required permission or approval.

Definition in Chinese

在没有得到允许的情况下自行做出决定或行动，常带有越权或不当的含义。zài méi yǒu dé dào yún xǔ de qíng kuàng xià zì xíng zuò chū jué dìng huò xíng dòng cháng dài yǒu yuè quán huò bú dàng de hán yì

Word origin

擅 (shàn, "to take upon oneself") + 自 (zì, "oneself") forms a word for treating oneself as the authority behind an action.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, this word sounds formal and disapproving, and it commonly appears before a verb in complaints or rules about actions such as entering, changing, or using something.

Other meanings

  • on one's ownadverb
  • arbitrarilyadverb

Opposites

  • 经允许jīng yún xǔwith permissionadverb
  • 经批准jīng pī zhǔnwith approvaladverb

Related words

Word lists with this word