自 zì
- Strokes
- 6
- Radical
- 自 — self
- How it's built
- Pictograph — a drawing of the thing
自言自语
zìyánzìyǔ
to talk to oneself
Characters in this word
言 yán
- Strokes
- 7
- Radical
- 言 — words, speech
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
语 yǔ
- Strokes
- 9
- Radical
- 讠 — words, speech
- Made of
- 讠 words, speech 吾 I, my, our
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
Example phrases
- 奶奶一边洗菜，一边自言自语。 Nǎinai yìbiān xǐ cài, yìbiān zìyánzìyǔ. Grandma washes the vegetables and mutters to herself.
- 他走在路上自言自语，把旁边的人吓了一跳。 Tā zǒu zài lùshang zìyánzìyǔ, bǎ pángbiān de rén xià le yí tiào. He walked down the road talking to himself, which gave the people beside him a start.
- 考试前，她小声自言自语，告诉自己不要紧张。 Kǎoshì qián, tā xiǎoshēng zìyánzìyǔ, gàosu zìjǐ bú yào jǐnzhāng. Before the exam she quietly talked to herself, telling herself not to be nervous.