TongTong
Sign in

无穷 (wú qióng) — endless, boundless, inexhaustible

Definition

无穷 emphasizes limitlessness — no end, no bound (time, space, energy, potential). More abstract and literary than 漫长, which describes something 'very long in duration'.

verb
endlessboundlessinexhaustible

Examples

  • 无穷。
    Tā duì xué xí de rè qíng shì wú qióng de.
    His passion for learning is endless.
  • 无穷，。
    Yǔ zhòu shì wú qióng de, rén lèi tàn suǒ de jiǎo bù bú huì tíng zhǐ.
    The universe is boundless; humanity's footsteps of exploration won't stop.
  • ，无穷。
    Jiān chí nǔ lì, nǐ huì fā xiàn zì jǐ de qián lì shì wú qióng de.
    Persist in working hard, and you'll find that your potential is inexhaustible.

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
穷qióngend

The idea of 无, meaning without, combines with 穷, meaning end, to suggest inexhaustibility.

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 窮; 穷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave; nest; confinement
Sound part声符shēngfú
躬
躬gōng窮qióng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 窮, 穴 (cave; nest; confinement) gives the sense and 躬 gives the sound; this is about 窮, not the simplified 穷.

Open 穷 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.