损人利己
损人利己 (sǔn rén lì jǐ) literally means “harm others benefit self” and expresses “selfish gain”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving relationships and character.
Also searched as: sun ren li ji, sun ren li ji,损人利己 meaning, 损人利己 in english
Selfish gain
Pronunciation: sǔn rén lì jǐ Literal meaning: Harm others benefit self
Origin & Usage
Harm (损) others (人), benefit (利) yourself (己). Its interest is that Chinese moral vocabulary has a graded scale of which this is only one point. 损人利己 is condemned; 利己 alone is not, and self-interest that costs nobody anything passes without comment. There is even 损人不利己, harming others without benefiting yourself, which is treated as worse because it is stupid as well as bad. The phrase names the ordinary, comprehensible version of selfishness.
Examples
English: "He sabotaged his colleague's project to advance his own career, demonstrating a lack of integrity."
Chinese: 他损人利己，完全不顾同事的努力。
Related Chinese Idioms
Similar idioms about relationships & character
损兵折将
sǔn bīng zhé jiàng
Suffer heavy losses
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舍己为人
shě jǐ wèi rén
Selflessness
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各抒己见
gè shū jǐ jiàn
Everyone freely express their own opinions
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急功近利
jí gōng jìn lì
Seek quick success and immediate benefit
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唯利是图
wéi lì shì tú
Selfish pursuit of gain
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大吉大利
dà jí dà lì
May everything be lucky and go smoothly
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身不由己
shēn bù yóu jǐ
Forced to act against will
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名利双收
míng lì shuāng shōu
Gain both fame and fortune
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does 损人利己 mean in English?
损人利己 (sǔn rén lì jǐ) literally translates to “Harm others benefit self” and is used to express “Selfish gain”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Relationships & Character category.
When is 损人利己 used?
Situation: He sabotaged his colleague's project to advance his own career, demonstrating a lack of integrity.
What is the pinyin for 损人利己?
The pinyin pronunciation for 损人利己 is “sǔn rén lì jǐ”.