人在江湖，身不由己 (jan4 zoi6 gong1 wu4, san1 bat1 yau4 gei2) — to have little control over one's fate due to social constrains | [粵]: 人在江湖身不由主 in Cantonese
janˎ₄人zoiˍ₆在gongˉ¹江wu4,湖，sanˉ¹身batˉ¹不yauˎ₄由geiˊ²己Mandarin Pinyin: ren2 zai4 jiang1 hu2, shen1 bu4 you2 ji3
Meaning of 人在江湖，身不由己
nounto have little control over one's fate due to social constrains | [粵]: 人在江湖身不由主
idiomOnce involved in the world/society, one's actions are beyond one's control.