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无常 (wú cháng) — impermanent, changeable; (euphemism) death, the unpredictability of life

Definition

A Buddhist and literary term meaning 'impermanent, constantly changing' — everything, especially life, is transient. As a euphemism, it can mean death or the unpredictability of life.

verb
impermanentchangeable(euphemism) deaththe unpredictability of life

Examples

  • ，。
    Tiān qì biàn huà wú cháng, chū mén yào dài sǎn.
    The weather is changeable; you should bring an umbrella when you go out.
  • 无常，。
    Rén shēng wú cháng, wǒ men yīng gāi zhēn xī měi yì tiān.
    Life is impermanent; we should cherish every day.
  • 无常，。
    Miàn duì shēng sǐ wú cháng, tā xiǎn de hěn píng jìng.
    Facing the unpredictability of life and death, he appeared very calm.

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
常chángconstancy

无 (without) and 常 (constancy) combine to mean impermanent, hence death.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
巾巾jīncloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng常cháng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

常 pairs 巾, a cloth, with 尚 as a sound part; the form originally referred to a lower garment.

Open 常 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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