Chinese word

随心所欲

Pronunciation

Pinyinsuí xīn suǒ yù

Meaning

idiomdo as one pleases

Example

他不能在家里随心所欲，要遵守规定。tā bù néng zài jiā lǐ suí xīn suǒ yù yào zūn shǒu guī dìng

He cannot do as he pleases at home; he must follow the rules.

Illustration for 随心所欲 (do as one pleases)

More examples

毕业后他终于可以随心所欲地做决定，不再受限于别人的期望。bì yè hòu tā zhōng yú ké yǐ suí xīn suǒ yù dì zuò jué dìng bú zài shòu xiàn yú bié rén de qī wàng

After graduating, he could finally make decisions as he pleased and was no longer restricted by other people's expectations.

Core concept

Personal desire takes the driver's seat, while rules and other people's needs lose their say.

Common phrases

随心所欲地做决定suí xīn suǒ yù dì zuò jué dìng
make decisions as one pleases
随心所欲的行为suí xīn suǒ yù de xíng wéi
willful behavior

Similar words

肆无忌惮sì wú jì dàn: Doing whatever seems appealing with no sense of restraint or concern about its effects.
为所欲为wéi suǒ yù wéi: Acting entirely as one wishes, with no care for rules or anyone else's needs.
恣意妄为zì yì wàng wéi: Pursuing personal aims in a willful, unreasonable way that disregards proper behavior.

Definition in Chinese

随自己的心意行事，不顾他人或规则，常带有任性或自我为中心的贬义。suí zì jǐ de xīn yì xíng shì bú gù tā rén huò guī zé cháng dài yǒu rèn xìng huò zì wǒ wèi zhōng xīn de biǎn yì

Word origin

The idiom combines 随 (suí, "follow") + 心 (xīn, "mind") + 所 (suǒ, "what") + 欲 (yù, "desire"), making personal desire the thing a person follows.

Usage tips

In everyday conversation, this idiom often criticizes behavior that ignores rules or other people, so it sounds harsher than a neutral statement about personal choice.

Opposites

墨守成规mò shǒu chéng guīrigidly adhere to old rulesidiom