人在江湖，身不由己

Traditional form:

人在江湖，身不由己

Pinyin (reading):

rénzàijiānghú,shēnbùyóujǐ

Definitions:

• you can't always do as you like
• one has to compromise in this world (idiom)

Characters:

• 人 - man, person; people
• 在 - at, in, on; to exist; used to indicate the present progressive tense
• 江 - large river; the Yangtze; surname
• 湖 - lake; Hubei, Hunan; bluish-green
• 身 - body, torso; person; pregnancy
• 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
• 由 - cause, reason; from
• 己 - self, oneself; personal, private; 6th heavenly stem

Traditional characters:

• 人 - man, person; people
• 在 - at, in, on; to exist; used to indicate the present progressive tense
• 江 - large river; the Yangtze; surname
• 湖 - lake; Hubei, Hunan; bluish-green
• 身 - body, torso; person; pregnancy
• 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
• 由 - cause, reason; from
• 己 - self, oneself; personal, private; 6th heavenly stem