zì yóu
freedom; liberty
Practice writing with stroke order guidance, audio pronunciation, and interactive exercises in our mobile app.
Step-by-step stroke order animations
Native speaker audio pronunciation
Interactive writing recognition
我热爱自由。
wǒ rè'ài zìyóu.
I love freedom.
他追求自由。
tā zhuīqiú zìyóu.
He pursues freedom.
我们向往自由。
wǒmen xiǎngwàng zìyóu.
We yearn for freedom.
自主 (zìzhǔ)
autonomy
解放 (jiěfàng)
liberation
不自由 (bù zì yóu)
not free
限制 (xiàn zhì)
restriction
The Chinese word 自由 (zìyóu) for "freedom" is composed of two characters: 自 (zì) and 由 (yóu). The character 自 originally meant "nose" and was later extended to mean "self" or "oneself". The character 由 originally meant "to walk" or "to go" and was later extended to mean "to allow" or "to permit". When combined, the two characters 自由 literally mean "self-walking" or "self-going", which implies the idea of being able to move or act without restraint or hindrance. In modern Chinese, 自由 is used to express the concept of freedom in a broad sense, encompassing both personal liberty and political rights.
