‘私有’ (sī yǒu) is an adjective meaning 'privately owned' — describing property, land, resources, or assets that belong to an individual or private entity rather than the state or public. The first character 私 (sī) means 'private', 'personal', or 'selfish', while 有 (yǒu) means 'to have' or 'to possess'. Together, they literally convey 'personally possessed', forming a compound that emphasizes ownership by non-governmental actors.

This term frequently appears in discussions about economics, law, real estate, and social policy — for example, when contrasting ‘private ownership’ with ‘public ownership’ (公有, gōng yǒu) or ‘collective ownership’ (集体所有, jítǐ suǒyǒu). It carries a neutral, formal tone and is common in written Chinese, news reports, and official documents, though less frequent in casual speech where simpler alternatives like ‘自家的’ (zìjiā de, 'one’s own') may be preferred.