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无从 (wú cóng) — have no way (to do sth); be unable to; not know how to

Definition

无从 (wúcóng) means 'have no way to' and always precedes a verb (无从下手, 无从得知), stressing that the means or starting point is missing.

adverb
have no way (to do sth)be unable tonot know how to

Examples

  • ，。
    Zhè ge wèn tí tài fù zá, wǒ wú cóng xià shǒu.
    This problem is too complicated; I have no way to start.
  • ，无从。
    Shì qing guò qù tài jiǔ, zhēn xiàng yǐ jīng wú cóng dé zhī.
    The incident happened too long ago; the truth is already impossible to know.
  • ，无从。
    Miàn duì zhè me duō xuǎn xiàng, wǒ wú cóng xuǎn zé.
    Faced with so many options, I have no way to choose.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

无wúwithout
从cóngway

Without and way combine to mean having no path or method.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 從; 从 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
从
从cóng從cóng
Same sound today

The traditional form 從 pairs 辵 (walk) with 从, which gives the sound; the character was originally written 从.

Open 从 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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