Chinese education begins with characters, continues with phrases, and grows into idioms. This free lesson covers the idiom 「獨善其身」. Learn its usage below.
We’re presenting the idiom 「獨善其身」 this time—its explanation and use are detailed below.
Du: only; Shan: good, maintain. The original meaning is that if you cannot become an official, you should improve yourself. It now refers to only caring about oneself and not others.
The Mandarin pronunciation of this idiom is :
dú shàn qí shēn
while its Cantonese pinyin is :
duk6 sin6 kei4 san1
Chinese idioms are limitless in number and diversity, presenting endless learning opportunities. These tools are here to help you embrace the beauty of the language.
