TongTong
Sign in

未曾 (wèi céng) — (formal) never before; not yet

Definition

Formal/literary 'never before; not yet' — a written alternative to 没 (méi) or 从未 (cóngwèi) in formal prose.

adverb
(formal) never beforenot yet

Examples

  • 未曾。
    Wǒ wèi céng jiàn guò zhè yàng de měi jǐng.
    I have never seen such beautiful scenery before.
  • 未曾。
    Tā wèi céng dào guò guó wài.
    He has never been abroad.
  • 未曾。
    Zhè ge wèn tí zhì jīn wèi céng jiě jué.
    This problem has not been solved to date.

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
曾céngever

未 gives not yet, and 曾 gives ever, so together they mean never before.

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 →

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

曾 was first drawn as a cooker for steaming food. The 'once' meaning came from borrowing the sound, so the picture does not directly show that meaning.

Open 曾 →

Grammar

Appears in
Time (Abstract)

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