Chinese word

自称

Pronunciation

Pinyinzì chēng

Meaning

  • verbcall oneself

Example

她在网上自称医生。tā zài wǎng shàng zì chēng yī shēng

She calls herself a doctor online.

Illustration for 自称 (call oneself)

More examples

被告在法庭上自称无罪，但检方提供了证据。bèi gào zài fǎ tíng shàng zì chēng wú zuì dàn jiǎn fāng tí gōng le zhèng jù

The defendant claimed to be innocent in court, but the prosecution presented evidence.

Core concept

A person presents a chosen identity or trait as their own stated description rather than as someone else's label.

Common phrases

  • 自称无罪zì chēng wú zuì

    claim to be innocent

  • 自称有经验zì chēng yǒu jīng yàn

    claim to have experience

Similar words

声称shēng chēng: To state a fact or opinion firmly and openly.
号称hào chēng: To be widely said to have a particular title, quality, or reputation.

Definition in Chinese

自己声称为某身份或特征，通常表示该信息由本人提出。zì jǐ shēng chēng wèi mǒu shēn fèn huò tè zhēng tōng cháng biǎo shì gāi xìn xī yóu běn rén tí chū

Word origin

自 (zì, "self") marks the source as oneself, and 称 (chēng, "call or describe") supplies the idea of naming that identity or trait.

Usage tips

  • English "call oneself" can sound neutral, but Chinese use in third-person descriptions often leaves room for doubt about whether the label is accepted as true.

Other meanings

  • consider oneselfverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word