私し利り私し欲よく

Meanings

A yojijukugo referring to pursuing one's own profit and desires, often with a negative connotation of greed or selfishness.

政せい治じ家かは私し利り私し欲よくに走はしってはいけない。
Politicians must not be driven by self-interest.
彼かれの行こう動どうは私し利り私し欲よくのためだけだった。
His actions were solely for his own selfish desires.

See all 3 example sentences ›

Kanji

私private, I, me
利profit, advantage, benefit
欲longing, covetousness, greed
慾covetousness, greed, passion

Related words

利り己こ的てき
利己的 is an adjective meaning 'selfish' or 'egoistic', focusing on character or attitude, while 私利私欲 is a noun emphasizing the pursuit of personal gain and desires.
欲よく張ばり
欲張り is a more casual term for 'greedy person' or 'greediness', often used in everyday contexts, whereas 私利私欲 is a formal, compound noun used in serious or critical discussions.

Built from

私し利り+私し欲よく

Written forms

私し利り私し欲よく
Standard kanji form for this yojijukugo.
私し利り私し慾よく
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used variant with 慾 instead of 欲.

Etymology

A yojijukugo composed of 私利 (personal profit) and 私欲 (personal desire), both using the character 私 (private, personal). The combination emphasizes selfish motives.