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身不由己 (shēn bù yóu jǐ): Meaning, Examples & Usage

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身不由己

身不由己 (shēn bù yóu jǐ): Not under one's control / Involuntary — Meaning & Stroke Order

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Character Breakdown

身不由己 consists of 4 characters.

body, person, oneself

How to Use 身不由己 in Sentences

Common collocations & usage patterns. Learn how to combine 身不由己 with other words naturally.

Measure Word + Nounwith种

yī一

zhǒng种

shēn身

bù不

yóu由

jǐ己

neutral

a kind of helplessness

Adverb + Idiomwith完全

wán完

quán全

shēn身

bù不

yóu由

jǐ己

Verb + Objectwith感到

gǎn感

dào到

shēn身

bù不

yóu由

jǐ己

Adjective + Nounwith处境

shēn身

bù不

yóu由

jǐ己

de的

chǔ处

jìng境

Example Sentences with 身不由己

wǒ我

tài太

lèi累

le了

，

shēn身

bù不

neutral

completely helpless

neutral

feel helpless

formal

Written

a helpless situation

yóu由

jǐ己

dì地

shuì睡

zháo着

le了

。

I was so tired that I fell asleep involuntarily.

zài在

jù巨

dà大

de的

shè社

huì会

yā压

lì力

miàn面

qián前

，

tā他

gǎn感

dào到

shēn身

bù不

yóu由

jǐ己

，

zhǐ只

néng能

suí随

bō波

zhú逐

liú流

。

Faced with immense social pressure, he felt he had no control and could only go with the flow.

nán难

dào道

zài在

mìng命

yùn运

de的

hóng洪

liú流

zhōng中

，

wǒ我

men们

měi每

gè个

rén人

dōu都

shēn身

bù不

yóu由

jǐ己

ma吗

？

In the torrent of fate, is it true that each of us is not in control of our own lives?

Show 5 More Sentences

tā他

gōng工

zuò作

tài太

máng忙

，

shēn身

bù不

yóu由

jǐ己

dì地

cuò错

guò过

le了

péng朋

yǒu友

de的

shēng生

rì日

jù聚

huì会

。

He was too busy with work and couldn't help missing his friend's birthday party.

tā他

bìng并

fēi非

shēn身

bù不

yóu由

jǐ己

，

ér而

suī虽

rán然

xiǎng想

jù拒

jué绝

，

dàn但

ài碍

yú于

qíng

zài在

nà那

zhǒng种

jǐn紧

jí急

qíng情

kuàng况

xià下

，

rén

dāng当

qíng情

gǎn感

yǔ与

lǐ理

zhì智

jī激

liè烈

chōng冲

tū

shì是

zhǔ主

dòng动

xuǎn选

zé择

le了

táo逃

bì避

zé责

rèn任

。

He was not acting involuntarily; rather, he actively chose to shirk responsibility.

情

miàn面

，

tā他

zuì最

zhōng终

hái还

shì是

shēn身

bù不

yóu由

jǐ己

dì地

dā答

ying应

le了

。

Although he wanted to refuse, out of consideration for their relationship, he ultimately felt compelled to agree.

人

men们

wǎng往

wǎng往

shēn身

bù不

yóu由

jǐ己

dì地

zuò做

chū出

běn本

néng能

fǎn反

yìng应

。

In such emergency situations, people often act on instinct involuntarily.

突

shí时

，

rén人

wǎng往

wǎng往

huì会

xiàn陷

rù入

shēn身

bù不

yóu由

jǐ己

de的

jìng境

dì地

。

When emotions and reason clash intensely, people often find themselves in a situation beyond their control.

Related Words

More HSK vocabulary that shares characters with 身不由己.

Words with 身

身体shēn tǐHSK 2
一身yī shēn
亲身qīn shēn
人身rén shēn
健身jiàn shēn
全身quán shēn
出身chū shēn
切身qiè shēn

Words with 不

不客气bú kè qiHSK 1
对不起duì bu qǐHSK 1
不但……而且……bù dàn ……ér qiě ……HSK 3
不仅bù jǐnHSK 4
不管bù guǎnHSK 4
不过bú guòHSK 4
不得不bù dé bùHSK 4
受不了shòu bù liǎoHSK 4

Words with 由

由于yóu yúHSK 4
理由lǐ yóu
由来yóu lái
由此yóu cǐ
由衷yóu zhōng
自由zì yóu
不由得bù yóu de
不由自主bù yóu zì zhǔ

Words with 己

自己zì jǐHSK 3
知己zhī jǐ
各抒己见gè shū jǐ jiàn
损人利己sǔn rén lì jǐ