自暴自弃
zì bào zì qì
to give yourself up as hopeless
Character by character
自zì
self
self
暴bào
harm
harm
自zì
self
self
弃qì
abandon
abandon
Example
失败了也不能自暴自弃。
Even if you fail, you can't give up on yourself.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
From Mencius (离娄上), on those who harm and abandon themselves.
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