Definition
身不由己 (shēn bù yóu jǐ) means one's body is not under one's own control — you are forced by circumstances or pressure to act against your will. It focuses on external compulsion, unlike 情不自禁 (qíng bú zì jīn) which is driven by internal emotion, or 不由自主 (bù yóu zì zhǔ) which can be either internal or external but is more about automatic, unthinking reactions.
phrase
unable to act on one's owninvoluntarilynot of one's own volition
Examples
- ，身不由己。Zài nà zhǒng huánjìng xià, tā shēn bù yóu jǐ de dāyìng le duìfāng de yāoqiú.In that kind of environment, he agreed to the other party's demands involuntarily.
- ，身不由己。Gōngzuò yālì tài dà, tā chángcháng gǎndào shēn bù yóu jǐ.The work pressure is too great; he often feels he has no freedom to act independently.
- ，身不由己。Tā kàn dào nà zhāng jiù zhàopiàn, shēn bù yóu jǐ de liú xià le yǎnlèi.When she saw that old photo, tears fell involuntarily.
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