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无毒 (wú dú) — nonpoisonous, non-toxic

Definition

verb
nonpoisonousnon-toxic

Examples

  • 无毒，。
    Zhè zhǒng cái liào shì wú dú de, kě yǐ fàng xīn shǐ yòng.
    This material is non-toxic, so you can use it with confidence.
  • ，无毒。
    Jīng guò jiǎn cè, zhè pī shí pǐn wán quán wú dú.
    After testing, this batch of food is completely nonpoisonous.
  • 无毒。
    Huán bǎo yóu qī yào xuǎn zé wú dú pèi fāng.
    For eco-friendly paint, choose a non-toxic formula.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

无wúnot have
毒dúpoison

无 not have and 毒 poison combine to mean without poison.

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
屮屮chèvegetation
Sound part声符shēngfú
毐
毐ǎi毒dú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

毒 pairs 屮, a plant part, with 毐 as a sound part; this form was used for a poisonous plant.

Open 毒 →
Appears in
Safety & Danger

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