SBTI ATM-er Personality — 5 Chinese Idioms for the Giver Type
SBTI ATM-er is the selfless Giver who always pays the bill. 5 Chinese idioms that capture this generous, loyal personality.
If you got ATM-er on the SBTI personality test, you're The Giver — always picking up the tab, always there for friends, always prioritizing others. Chinese culture deeply honors this kind of selfless devotion in its idioms (chengyu, 成语). Here are 5 that capture the ATM-er spirit.
守望相助
shǒu wàng xiāng zhùNeighbours look out for each other
Literal: Watch and help each other
To keep watch (守望) and help one another (相助). The phrase appears in the Mencius, in the description of the well-field system, where families holding land in common were to go out and come in together, guard against thieves together, and support one another in illness. What it names is a specific arr...
Example
During the crisis, neighbors took turns checking on elderly residents
在危机期间，邻居们轮流照看年长居民
肝胆相照
gān dǎn xiāng zhàoShare complete trust and loyalty
Literal: Livers and galls illuminate each other
Liver (肝) and gall (胆) lighting (照) one another (相). Chinese physiology seats courage in the gall and sincerity in the liver, so the phrase does not mean two friends know each other well — it means each is showing the other the organs that hold what they are made of. The image is deliberately viscer...
Example
The two friends shared everything with complete trust.
两位朋友肝胆相照，完全信任彼此。
舍己为人
shě jǐ wèi rénSelflessness
Literal: Sacrifice oneself for others
To set aside (舍) oneself (己) for (为) others (人). The sentiment is thoroughly Confucian, and the construction appears in the classics in related forms. What is worth noticing is how strong 舍 is: not subordinating one's interests but relinquishing them, which is why the phrase is reserved for real cos...
Example
He always puts his friends' needs before his own, embodying the spirit of selflessness.
他总是把朋友的需求放在自己之前，体现了无私的精神。
鼎力相助
dǐng lì xiāng zhùSubstantial support
Literal: Great strength mutual help
A 鼎 is a bronze ritual tripod, heavy enough that lifting one is the standard Chinese image of enormous strength; 鼎力 borrows that weight for the help being described. The important thing is who may say it. Together with 相助, mutual (相) help (助), the phrase is honorific toward the helper, so it is used...
Example
The community came together to provide strong support for the new initiative.
社区鼎力相助，支持这个新的倡议。
鞠躬尽瘁
jū gōng jìn cuìDevote oneself completely; work until exhausted
Literal: Bow and exhaust oneself completely
To bend the body (鞠躬) and spend oneself utterly (尽瘁). The line is from Zhuge Liang's second memorial before marching north: your servant will bow himself to the task and give out his whole strength, and stop only at death — and whether it ends in success or failure is not something his foresight can...
Example
He devoted his entire life to public service until his last breath.
他鞠躬尽瘁，为公共服务奉献一生。
Quick Reference
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