Chinese word

自言自语

Pronunciation

Pinyinzì yán zì yǔ

Meaning

  • verbtalk to oneself

Example

他总是在房间里自言自语。tā zǒng shì zài fáng jiān lǐ zì yán zì yǔ

He is always talking to himself in his room.

Illustration for 自言自语 (talk to oneself)

More examples

面对困难，他常在心里自言自语，给自己打气。miàn duì kùn nán tā cháng zài xīn lǐ zì yán zì yǔ gěi zì jǐ dǎ qì

When facing difficulties, he often talks to himself in his mind to encourage himself.

Core concept

A person gives private thoughts an audible voice without adding a separate listener.

Common phrases

  • 独自一人自言自语dú zì yì rén zì yán zì yǔ

    talk to oneself alone

  • 心里自言自语xīn lǐ zì yán zì yǔ

    talk to oneself in one's mind

Similar words

讲jiǎng: Talk through the content or reasoning of something so another person can understand it.
念niàn: Say written words aloud as they are read.
朗读lǎng dú: Read a written passage aloud with clear pronunciation and expression.

Definition in Chinese

自己对自己说话，指一个人在独处时把想法或话语说出来。zì jǐ duì zì jǐ shuō huà zhǐ yí gè rén zài dú chǔ shí bǎ xiáng fǎ huò huà yǔ shuō chū lái

Word origin

The repeated 自 (zì, "self") points the action back to the same person, while 言 (yán, "say") and 语 (yǔ, "speech") identify spoken language.

Usage tips

  • The word refers to audible speech rather than silent thinking, which helps separate it from English descriptions of thoughts that never become sound.

Other meanings

  • self-talknoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word