📖 Meaning
To be intoxicated with oneself or blindly self-admiring, seeking inner comfort by becoming immersed in one's own achievements or imagined excellence. It describes someone who indulges in self-satisfaction without objective awareness of reality.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom traces to a line by Tang dynasty poet Cui Shu in his poem 'Climbing Wangxian Terrace on the Ninth Day': 'I wish to seek the magistrate of Pengze nearby, and happily get drunk together over chrysanthemum wine cups.' The magistrate of Pengze alludes to Tao Yuanming, the famously detached Jin dynasty poet-official. From this imagery of becoming happily intoxicated with wine and chrysanthemums, the phrase evolved into a metaphor for losing oneself in self-admiration.
💡 Example Usage
他总爱在朋友面前炫耀自己的成就，未免有些自我陶醉了。
He always shows off his achievements in front of friends, which is rather self-intoxicated.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 自我陶醉
- Pinyin: zì wǒ táo zuì
- Literal Translation: self, intoxicated
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4