身不由己

身不由己

Chinese

		body; torso; person body; torso; person; life; status; pregnancy; (a measure word used for clothes) suit	not; no	follow; from; it is for...to follow; from; it is for...to; reason; cause; because of; due to; by; to; to leave it (to sb)	6th heavenly stem; self
trad. (身不由己)		身	不	由	己
simp. #(身不由己)		身	不	由	己

Etymology

From the Southern drama play 張協狀元 "Top Graduate Zhang Xie", included in the Yongle Encyclopedia:

是則無妻我身自不由己，須有爹媽在家鄉尤未知。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]

---

是则无妻我身自不由己，须有爹妈在家乡尤未知。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

Shìzé wúqī wǒ shēnzìbùyóujǐ, xū yǒu diēmā zài jiāxiāng yóu wèizhī. [Pinyin]

Although I have no wife, I have no choice in this matter; father and mother are back home and still do not know.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shēnbùyóujǐ

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄣ ㄅㄨˋ ㄧㄡˊ ㄐㄧˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): san¹ bat¹ jau⁴ gei²
• Min Nan (POJ): sin-put-iû-kí

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shēnbùyóujǐ
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄣ ㄅㄨˋ ㄧㄡˊ ㄐㄧˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shenbùyóujǐ
    • Wade–Giles: shên¹-pu⁴-yu²-chi³
    • Yale: shēn-bù-yóu-jǐ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shenbuyoujii
    • Palladius: шэньбуюцзи (šɛnʹbujuczi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂən⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ joʊ̯³⁵ t͡ɕi²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: san¹ bat¹ jau⁴ gei²
    • Yale: sān bāt yàuh géi
    • Cantonese Pinyin: san¹ bat⁷ jau⁴ gei²
    • Guangdong Romanization: sen¹ bed¹ yeo⁴ géi²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐn⁵⁵ pɐt̚⁵ jɐu̯²¹ kei̯³⁵/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sin-put-iû-kí
    • Tâi-lô: sin-put-iû-kí
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sinput'iu'kie
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɕin⁴⁴⁻³³ put̚³²⁻⁴ iu²³⁻³³ ki⁴¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /ɕin⁴⁴⁻³³ put̚³²⁻⁴ iu²⁴⁻¹¹ ki⁵³/

Idiom

身不由己

1. to be unable to determine for oneself; to be involuntary

   • 關公曰：「汝怎敢抗吾？」禁曰：「上命差遣，身不由己。望君侯憐憫，誓以死報。」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     关公曰：“汝怎敢抗吾？”禁曰：“上命差遣，身不由己。望君侯怜悯，誓以死报。” [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, circa 14^th century CE

     Guāngōng yuē: “Rǔ zěn gǎn kàng wú?” Jìn yuē: “Shàngmìng chāiqiǎn, shēnbùyóujǐ. Wàng jūnhóu liánmǐn, shì yǐ sǐ bào.” [Pinyin]

     Lord Guan said: "How dare you oppose me?" (Yu) Jin said: "We were ordered from above, (we did so) not on our own accord. We hope ye, milord, would have mercy. We swear we'll repay that with death."

Derived terms

人在江湖，身不由己

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (身不由己):

• → Vietnamese: thân bất do kỷ (身不由己)