自私
zìsī · HSK 7
selfish
🪞 自私 = 自 self + 私 private/personal; a self-private person looks out only for themselves
自 means self (as in 自己), 私 means private or personal (as in 私人). Glue them together and you get someone whose whole world is their own private interests: selfish.
自 — pictograph of a nose
自 originally depicted a human nose, shown frontally with the bridge and nostrils. Ancient Chinese pointed to their own nose to mean 'me,' so 自 shifted to mean 'self' or 'oneself.' A new character 鼻 was later created to carry the original 'nose' meaning.