私事
sī shì · HSK 7
personal matters
🔒 私 (sī, private/personal) + 事 (shì, matter/affair) = personal matters
私 carries the sense of private or self, the opposite of public (公). Pair it with 事 (matter, affair) and you get one's own private business — personal matters kept apart from public or work life.
事 — hand 又 holding a banner/tablet on a pole
Originally a pictograph of a hand (又) grasping a pole or ceremonial banner used by an official, depicting the act of conducting court business. From this it came to mean 'affair, matter, business, service.' It shares an ancient origin with 史 (scribe) and 吏 (official).