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无忧无虑 (wú yōu wú lǜ) — carefree and without worries

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'carefree and free of worries,' describing a person's state of mind. Unlike 后顾之忧 (which names a specific worry you can resolve), 无忧无虑 is the general absence of worry itself.

phrase
carefree and without worries

Examples

  • 无忧无虑，。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù wú yōu wú lǜ, cóng bù wéi qián fā chóu.
    He has been carefree since childhood and never worries about money.
  • 无忧无虑。
    Xiāng cūn shēng huó ràng rén gǎn dào wú yōu wú lǜ.
    Country life makes people feel carefree.
  • 无忧无虑。
    Xiǎo māo zài yáng guāng xià wú yōu wú lǜ dì shuì zháo le.
    The kitten fell asleep carefree in the sunshine.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

无忧no worry
无wúhave no忧yōuworry
动宾Verb + object
无虑no anxiety
无wúhave no虑lǜanxiety
动宾Verb + object

无忧 and 无虑 together suggest having no worry and no anxiety.

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
心心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
尤
尤yóu忧yōu
Same sound today

The heart part 心 marks a feeling, and 尤 gives the sound.

Open 忧 →

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 慮; 虑 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
思思sīto think
Sound part声符shēngfú
虍
虍hū慮lǜ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 慮 puts 思 (think) with 虍, which gives the sound; the simplified 虑 is a later shorthand.

Open 虑 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & FeelingsIdioms & Set Phrases

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