自A自B
by oneself and to or for oneself
Structure
自 A 自 B
What it means
By oneself and to or for oneself: the doer and the one affected are the same person.
How it is built
自 + A + 自 + B, in set phrases: 自言自语 (talk to oneself), 自问自答, 自娱自乐, 自编自演: 有人站在灯下自言自语 (Some stand under the lantern talking to themselves).
When to use it
Four-character frame (四字格) phrases for description. Some are critical: 自作自受 (reap what one sows), 自吹自擂 (blow one’s own trumpet).
Watch out
These are set phrases: you cannot build new ones freely. Mind the tone: 自作自受 blames, 自娱自乐 does not.
Examples
有人站在灯下自言自语，怎么也猜不出来。
Some stand under the lantern talking to themselves, unable to work it out.
他整天熬夜打游戏，现在病倒了，真是自作自受。
He stayed up gaming every night and now he’s ill: he only has himself to blame.
退休以后，爷爷写写字、唱唱戏，自娱自乐。
Since retiring, Grandpa does a bit of calligraphy and sings a bit of opera, purely for his own amusement.
Learn this in Lesson 220 · HSK 9+: 对联、灯谜与飞花令 (Couplets, riddles and poem games)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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