Chinese word

自动

Pronunciation

Pinyinzì dòng

Meaning

  • adjectiveautomatic

Example

我买了一个自动咖啡机。wǒ mǎi le yí gè zì dòng kā fēi jī

I bought an automatic coffee maker.

Illustration for 自动 (automatic)

More examples

我出去时，自动门自己关上了。wǒ chū qù shí zì dòng mén zì jǐ guān shàng le

When I went outside, the automatic door closed by itself.

Core concept

A machine, system, or process responds and carries out its work without a person operating it at each step.

Common phrases

  • 自动门zì dòng mén

    automatic door

  • 自动售货机zì dòng shòu huò jī

    vending machine

  • 自动取款机zì dòng qú kuǎn jī

    ATM

Similar words

主动zhǔ dòng: Acting or working willingly without waiting for someone else to direct it.
自然zì rán: Existing in its original form without human intervention or artificial change.
被动bèi dòng: Moving or acting because an outside force or instruction makes it happen.

Definition in Chinese

在没有人直接操作的情况下，自己开始或完成动作、工作或变化的状态或方式，常用于描述机器、系统或程序的运作。zài méi yǒu rén zhí jiē cāo zuò de qíng kuàng xià zì jǐ kāi shǐ huò wán chéng dòng zuò gōng zuò huò biàn huà de zhuàng tài huò fāng shì cháng yòng yú miáo shù jī qì xì tǒng huò chéng xù de yùn zuò

Word origin

The compound 自动 (zìdòng, "automatic") joins 自 (zì, "self") with 动 (dòng, "move"), linking independent action with movement.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, 自动 (zìdòng, "automatic") may stand immediately before a verb, so the sentence does not always need a separate adverb form.

Other meanings

  • automaticallyadverb
  • by itselfadverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word