自暴自弃

自暴自棄

zìbàozìqì

idiom #17,024

Meanings

1 to abandon oneself to despair; to give up on oneself; to be self-destructive

Characters

violent; to abuse; to waste

to abandon; to discard

Literally 'abuse oneself and abandon oneself' — to completely give up on one's own future.

Examples

失败了不可怕，可怕的是自暴自弃。

Shībài le bù kěpà, kěpà de shì zìbàozìqì.

Failure isn't frightening — what's frightening is giving up on yourself.

他失恋之后开始自暴自弃。

Tā shīliàn zhīhòu kāishǐ zìbàozìqì.

After his breakup, he started to let himself go.

不要自暴自弃，一切都还有希望。

Bùyào zìbàozìqì, yīqiè dōu hái yǒu xīwàng.

Don't give up on yourself — there's still hope for everything.

Tips

history

From Mencius (《孟子》): 自暴者 means one who harms themselves through reckless speech, and 自弃者 means one who abandons any effort at goodness. Combined, it describes total self-destructive resignation.

Stroke Order

自 zì

暴 bào

弃 qì