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Mandarin · pinyin zì gù zì

each minding his own business

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Characters in this entry

自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
顧: Look up this written character
顾: gù · look back; look at; look after

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–4 · zi4 gu4 zi4

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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.

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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.

phrase

(idiomatic) each for himself; everyone looks to himself (without worrying for others)

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

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