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未决 (wèi jué) — unsettled, outstanding, pending (not yet resolved)

Definition

Used for issues, cases, or outcomes that have not yet been decided or resolved — stronger and more formal than just saying something "isn't finished." Pairs especially with legal or procedural contexts (案件, 问题).

adjective
unsettledoutstandingpending (not yet resolved)

Examples

  • 未决。
    Zhè ge àn jiàn yī rán wèi jué.
    This case is still unresolved.
  • 未决。
    Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài chǔ lǐ jǐ gè wèi jué de wèn tí.
    The government is handling several outstanding issues.
  • 未决。
    Tóu piào jié guǒ xiàn zài réng rán wèi jué.
    The voting results are still pending.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

未wèinot yet
决juésettle

“未” says not yet, and “决” says settled, so the result is unsettled.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 未 shows a tree with extra branches spreading above its trunk, like lush, overlapping limbs.

Open 未 →

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 決; 决 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
夬
夬guài決jué
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 決 has 氵 (water) and 夬, which gives the sound. This describes 決, not the simplified 决.

Open 决 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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