身不由己

shēn bù yóu jǐ

not in control of your own actions

Character by character

身shēn
body

不bù
not

由yóu
follow

己jǐ
self

在大公司工作，很多时候身不由己。

Working for a big company, a lot of the time it's not up to you.

Tone: neutral.

A common sigh about obligations; also physical: 被人群挤得身不由己.

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