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自言自語

简自言自语 · 繁自言自語

Mandarin · pinyin zì yán zì yǔ

(idiom) to talk to oneself; to think aloud; to soliloquize

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Characters in this entry

自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
語: Look up this written character
语: yǔ · language, words; saying, expression

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–3 · zi4 yan2 zi4 yu3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

自言自語 · find source passages ↗ · 自言自语 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi6 jin4 zi6 jyu5

Cantonese word readings for 自言自語. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

(idiomatic) to talk to oneself; to think aloud

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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