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自相矛盾

zì xiāng máo dùn

HSK 3.0 level 7-9 4-character word

自相矛盾 (zì xiāng máo dùn) means "to contradict oneself; self-contradictory; inconsistent". It is an HSK 3.0 level 7-9 word, and was not on the old six-level HSK list.

What 自相矛盾 means

1. to contradict oneself
2. self-contradictory
3. inconsistent

The characters in 自相矛盾

• 自zì(bound form) self; oneself; from; since; naturally; as a matter of course
• 相xiāngeach other; one another; mutually
• 矛máospear; lance; pike
• 盾dùnshield; (currency) Vietnamese dong; currency unit of several countries…

Example sentences

• 你在自相矛盾。
  Nǐ zài zìxiāngmáodùn.
  You're contradicting yourself.
• 举例说，如果一个老师警告学生不要吸烟，但自己却每天吸个不停，那么这个警告就是自相矛盾的了。
  Jǔlì shuō, rúguǒ yī gè lǎoshī jǐnggào xuésheng bù yào xīyān, dàn zìjǐ què měitiān xī gè bù tíng, nàme zhège jǐnggào jiùshì zìxiāngmáodùn de le.
  For example, if a chain-smoking teacher cautions a pupil for smoking, that warning is self-contradictory.

Go deeper

• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read zì xiāng máo dùn correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.