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Glite Dictionary
personal business

personal business

16 2.8
Private matters that concern only you
  • noun
translation icon : asuntos personales
  • And I don't discuss my personal business with strangers.
  • attend to personal business
  • conduct personal business
  • talk about personal business

Examples

  • If you have any personal business you need to tend to, I suggest doing it now.

    Ad Astra (2019)

  • Our government needs to get real, get educated, and get out of people's very personal business.

    Blog text (19)

  • I had some personal business.

    Cremaster 3 (2002)

  • My personal business is just that.

    Strait & Narrow (2016)

  • You know who you are, what your goals are, and how you achieve them is your personal business.

    Blog text (6)

  • Of course I'll give you permission to leave the office on personal business anytime.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • "People don't think the government should be sticking its nose into their personal business."

    Academic text (2007)

  • Mabel Molish always got into other people's personal business.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Ralph Johnson stopped for tea in the suburb of Gia Dinh that day on some personal business.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I prefer to keep my personal business private and only share it with close friends.

Synonyms

business
vspersonal business
∞ 1.4

A matter that is someone's concern or responsibility

refers specifically to private matters rather than general responsibility
personal matters
vspersonal business
32 2.8

Private things about someone's life, like family or health issues

is the same idea but expressed using a different common phrase
affairs
vspersonal business
1 3.0

Personal or private matters like money, papers and responsibilities

focuses more narrowly on one's private life rather than formal duties
none of your business
vspersonal business
  • Informal
5.8

A private matter that does not concern you

names private matters themselves rather than being a phrase to refuse questions

Antonyms

affairs
  • Formal
2 3.7

Public or professional matters like government and business issues

How Private

intimate
  • NSFW
100 6.3
private
∞ 2.2
personal business
16 2.8
public
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

personal business singular
personal businesses plural

Morphology

personal + business

The meaning 'private matters' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'personal' (relating to a particular person) with 'business' (matters/affairs). This compositional pattern is common across languages (e.g., Spanish 'asuntos personales') and follows standard noun-modifier semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Personal business comes from the simple idea that personal means belonging to someone and business means a matter or task. Think of a small desk where a person keeps private papers — those are their personal business, so the phrase means 'private matters' you do not want others to see.