无形 (wú xíng) — invisible; intangible; formless

Definition

无形 means 'intangible / invisible' — abstract forces (pressure, influence) that exist but can't be seen. Pairs with 隐形 (hidden by design, e.g. stealth tech); not used for simulated or virtual contexts like 虚拟 or 仿真.

invisibleintangibleformless

Examples

无形。
wú xíng De yā lì ràng tā chuǎn bú guò qì lái.
The invisible pressure made it hard for him to breathe.
无形，。
Zhè zhǒng yǐng xiǎng shì wú xíng de, dàn què shí cún zài.
This kind of influence is intangible, but it really exists.
无形，。
wú xíng Zhōng, tā de tài dù yǐ jīng fā shēng le biàn huà.
Imperceptibly, his attitude had already changed.

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

形xíngform

The idea of 无, meaning without, combines with 形, meaning form, to suggest formlessness.

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

彡彡shān

Sound part声符shēngfú

井

井jǐng形xíng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

形 is made from 彡 and 井, with 井 providing the sound.

Open 形 →

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Abstract Concepts