自以为是
- Literal
- to take oneself to be the one who is right
- Figurative
- To assume you're always right and listen to no one; to take your own view for the correct one without ever questioning it.
Where does 自以为是 come from?
There is no story behind it: it is a classical Chinese formula that reads plainly, 自 ("oneself") plus 以为 ("to take as") plus 是 ("right"). It already appears in Warring States prose, and the 《荀子》 uses it of quarrels: whoever fights takes his own position to be right and the other's to be wrong. The sense has been negative ever since, and it still is today, almost always aimed at someone who won't accept being contradicted.
Source (出处): 《荀子》
How is 自以为是 used? Two examples
- 他太自以为是了，别人的建议一句也听不进去。
He's so sure he's right that not a single suggestion from anyone gets through to him.
- 年轻的时候我也很自以为是，现在才明白自己懂得太少。
When I was young I was sure I was always right too; only now do I realize how little I know.
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