身不由己
shēn bù yóu jǐ
Pinyin

Definition

身不由己
 - 
shēn bù yóu jǐ
  1. without the freedom to act independently (idiom); involuntary
  2. not of one's own volition
  3. in spite of oneself

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

不
bù
  1. 1 (negative prefix)
  2. 2 not
  3. 3 no
自己
zì jǐ
  1. 1 oneself
  2. 2 one's own
上身
shàng shēn
  1. 1 upper part of the body
不久
bù jiǔ
  1. 1 not long (after)
  2. 2 before too long
  3. 3 soon
  4. 4 soon after
不但
bù dàn
  1. 1 not only (... but also...)
不仅
bù jǐn
  1. 1 not only (this one)
  2. 2 not just (...) but also
不到
bù dào
  1. 1 not to arrive
  2. 2 not reaching
  3. 3 insufficient
  4. 4 less than
不同
bù tóng
  1. 1 different
  2. 2 distinct
  3. 3 not the same
  4. 4 not alike
不堪
bù kān
  1. 1 cannot bear
  2. 2 cannot stand
  3. 3 utterly
  4. 4 extremely
不如
bù rú
  1. 1 not equal to
  2. 2 not as good as
  3. 3 inferior to
  4. 4 it would be better to
不妨
bù fáng
  1. 1 there is no harm in
  2. 2 might as well
不安
bù ān
  1. 1 unpeaceful
  2. 2 unstable
  3. 3 uneasy
  4. 4 disturbed
  5. 5 restless
  6. 6 worried
不少
bù shǎo
  1. 1 many
  2. 2 a lot
  3. 3 not few
不屑
bù xiè
  1. 1 to disdain to do sth
  2. 2 to think sth not worth doing
  3. 3 to feel it beneath one's dignity
不已
bù yǐ
  1. 1 endlessly
  2. 2 incessantly
不幸
bù xìng
  1. 1 misfortune
  2. 2 adversity
  3. 3 unfortunate
  4. 4 sad
  5. 5 unfortunately
  6. 6 CL:個|个[gè]
不得不
bù dé bù
  1. 1 have no choice or option but to
  2. 2 cannot but
  3. 3 have to
  4. 4 can't help it
  5. 5 can't avoid
不得了
bù dé liǎo
  1. 1 desperately serious
  2. 2 disastrous
  3. 3 extremely
  4. 4 exceedingly
不愧
bù kuì
  1. 1 to be worthy of
  2. 2 to deserve to be called
  3. 3 to prove oneself to be
不舍
bù shě
  1. 1 reluctant to part with (sth or sb)
  2. 2 unwilling to let go of

Idioms (20)

一不做，二不休
yī bù zuò , èr bù xiū
  1. 1 don't do it, or don't rest (idiom); either give up, or go through to the end
  2. 2 Since we started, we must carry it through whatever happens.
  3. 3 in for a penny, in for a pound
一问三不知
yī wèn sān bù zhī
  1. 1 lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
  3. 3 complete ignorance
一尘不染
yī chén bù rǎn
  1. 1 untainted by even a speck of dust (idiom); selfless and incorruptible
  2. 2 spotless
一字不提
yī zì bù tí
  1. 1 to not mention a single word (about sth) (idiom)
一山不容二虎
yī shān bù róng èr hǔ
  1. 1 lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us
  3. 3 (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
一成不变
yī chéng bù biàn
  1. 1 nothing much changes (idiom); always the same
  2. 2 stuck in a rut
一文不值
yī wén bù zhí
  1. 1 worthless (idiom)
  2. 2 no use whatsoever
一日不见，如隔三秋
yī rì bù jiàn , rú gé sān qiū
  1. 1 one day apart seems like three years (idiom)
一日为师，终身为父
yī rì wéi shī , zhōng shēn wéi fù
  1. 1 lit. teacher for one day, father for ever (idiom)
一毛不拔
yī máo bù bá
  1. 1 stingy (idiom)
一瓶子不响，半瓶子晃荡
yī píng zi bù xiǎng , bàn píng zi huàng dang
  1. 1 lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
一病不起
yī bìng bù qǐ
  1. 1 to fall gravely ill, never to recover (idiom)
一窍不通
yī qiào bù tōng
  1. 1 lit. doesn't (even) enter a single aperture (of one's head)
  2. 2 I don't understand a word (idiom)
  3. 3 it's all Greek to me
一笔不苟
yī bǐ bù gǒu
  1. 1 lit. not even one stroke is negligent (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to write characters (calligraphy) in which every stroke is placed perfectly
一丝不挂
yī sī bù guà
  1. 1 not wearing one thread (idiom); absolutely naked
  2. 2 without a stitch of clothing
  3. 3 in one's birthday suit
一丝不苟
yī sī bù gǒu
  1. 1 not one thread loose (idiom); strictly according to the rules
  2. 2 meticulous
  3. 3 not one hair out of place
一着不慎，满盘皆输
yī zhāo bù shèn , mǎn pán jiē shū
  1. 1 One careless move and the whole game is lost. (idiom)
一言不发
yī yán bù fā
  1. 1 to not say a word (idiom)
一语不发
yī yǔ bù fā
  1. 1 to not say a word (idiom)
一蹶不振
yī jué bù zhèn
  1. 1 one stumble, unable to rise (idiom); a setback leading to total collapse
  2. 2 ruined at a stroke
  3. 3 unable to recover after a minor hitch

Sample Sentences

人在江湖，身不由己啊！
rénzàijiānghúshēnbùyóujǐ a ！
A man can't help but go with the tide.
Go to Lesson 
身不由己啊，读书、大学、工作、结婚生子这些程序注定是安排好的，哪有实现自我价值的时间啊。
shēnbùyóujǐ ā ，dúshū 、dàxué 、gōngzuò 、jiéhūn shēngzǐ zhèxiē chéngxù zhùdìng shì ānpái hǎo de ，nǎyǒu shíxiàn zìwǒjiàzhí de shíjiān ā 。
You are not the master of yourself. Studying, university, working, getting married and having children, this course of events is destined to be mapped out. Where is there time for fulfilling your self-worth?
Go to Lesson 
可是身不由己
kěshì shēnbùyóujǐ
Go to Lesson 
嗨，人在江湖身不由己。做我们这种买卖就是要担风险的。你想买什么枪？
hāi ，rén zài jiānghú shēnbùyóujǐ 。zuò wǒmen zhèzhǒng mǎimài jiùshì yào dān fēngxiǎn de 。nǐ xiǎng mǎi shénme qiāng ？
Hey, people in this line of work have no choice. When you do this kind of business you have to take risks. Which gun do you wanna buy?
Go to Lesson