Writing
私自 (sī zì) — how to say "without permission" in Chinese
私自
Without permission, on one's own
manner adverb
How to use it
Goes before the verb and says how the action is done.
他私自拿走了我的书。
tā sī zì ná zǒu le wǒ de shū
He took my book without permission.
Character composition
私
personal, private
自
self, oneself
Radicals / Keys
禾
Grain
#115 · hé · 5 strokes
自
Self
#132 · zì · 6 strokes
Synonyms
Collocations
私自离开
sī zì lí kāi
leave without permission
私自决定
sī zì jué dìng
decide without authorization
私自行动
sī zì xíng dòng
act without authorization
Examples
他私自拿了公司的文件，这是不对的。
He took the company's documents without permission, which is wrong.
他私自走了。
He left without permission.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say "without permission" in Chinese?
"without permission" in Chinese is 私自 (sī zì).
What does 私自 mean in English?
私自 (sī zì) means "Without permission, on one's own".
How is 私自 pronounced?
It is pronounced sī zì (written as si zi, sizi). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "without permission" in Chinese characters?
It is written 私自: 私 has 7 strokes, 自 has 6 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 私自?
私自 belongs to the HSK 6 vocabulary list.
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