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无端 (wú duān) — for no reason; groundlessly; unprovoked (as an adverb); (literary) without limit; infinitely

Definition

Literary adverb meaning 'for no reason, unprovoked,' used in writing and formal speech. Modifies a verb (无端指责) to stress the action was groundless.

adverb
for no reasongroundlesslyunprovoked (as an adverb)(literary) without limitinfinitely

Examples

  • 无端，。
    Tā wú duān zhǐ zé wǒ, ràng wǒ hěn shēng qì.
    He blamed me for no reason, which made me very angry.
  • 无端。
    Gōng sī wú duān jiě gù le yì pī lǎo yuán gōng.
    The company laid off a group of veteran employees without cause.
  • 无端。
    Bié wú duān dǎ rǎo bié rén xiū xi.
    Don't disturb others' rest for no reason.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

无wúlack
端duāncause

无 conveys lack and 端 conveys cause, giving a sense of without a cause.

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
立立lì
Sound part声符shēngfú
耑
耑zhuān端duān
Same sound today

端 is made by putting 立 beside 耑. The 立 part is connected to the meaning, and 耑 gives the sound.

Open 端 →
Appears in
Cause, Effect & Logic

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