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毫无用处 (háo wú yòng chù) — completely useless, of no use at all

Definition

verb
completely uselessof no use at all

Examples

  • 毫无用处，。
    Zhè ge jiù diàn nǎo yǐ jīng háo wú yòng chù le, bù rú rēng diào.
    This old computer is completely useless, might as well throw it away.
  • 毫无用处，。
    Tā de jiàn yì háo wú yòng chù, méi yǒu rén cǎi nà.
    His suggestion was utterly useless, and no one adopted it.
  • 毫无用处。
    Nà xiē zī liào duì jiě jué wèn tí háo wú yòng chù.
    Those materials are of no use whatsoever for solving the problem.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

The written form 毫 is built from 高 and 毛.

Open 毫 →

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.

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →

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 處; 处 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
夂夂zhǐ
几几jǐtable
Sound part声符shēngfú
虍
虍hū處chǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 處 pairs 虍, giving the sound, with 夂 and 几, a table, as meaning parts. The simplified 处 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 处 →
Appears in
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