身不由己
shēn bù yoú jǐ · HSK 7
without the freedom to act independently
⛓️ 身 body + 不 not + 由 by + 己 self = your body not steered by yourself
Literally body-not-by-self: you act, but the control comes from outside, not from your own will. Used when circumstances force your hand and you have no real choice.
身 — pictograph of a pregnant body
身 is a pictograph originally depicting a person with a swollen belly, representing a pregnant woman in profile. Over time the meaning broadened from 'pregnancy' or 'torso' to refer to the body in general, and by extension oneself or one's person.
不 — single pictograph; bird flying upward
Originally a pictograph in oracle bone script, traditionally interpreted as a bird flying up toward the sky and unable to come down, suggesting negation or refusal. Over time it became the standard negation word in Chinese, used before verbs and adjectives to mean 'not'.
由 — pictograph of a gourd or vessel with a stem
由 originated as a pictograph showing a gourd, fruit, or vessel with a sprout or stem emerging from the top. Over time the meaning shifted abstractly to 'come forth from' or 'origin', giving modern senses like 'reason', 'cause', and 'from'. It is unrelated to 田 despite the visual similarity.