事在人为 shìzàirénwéi it depends on human effort Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 事 shì noun matter matter; affair; thing; event在 zài prepositionverb to depend on to depend on; to rest with; to be determined by人为 人為 rénwéi human effort human attempt or effort; what a person does or can achieve. Often used in the context of personal agency vs. fate or nature.