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没用 (méi yòng) — useless, not useful; (verb-object) to have no use, to be of no use

Definition

没用 (méi yòng) literally 'not have use' — a colloquial adjective meaning 'useless' (a person, thing, or method). Distinct from 没用的 nominal sense 'useless one (thing/person)' and the verb-object use 没什么用 'to be of no use'.

uselessnot useful(verb-object) to have no useto be of no use

Examples

  • 没用，。
    Zhè ge bàn fǎ wán quán méi yòng, bié shì le.
    This method is completely useless; don't bother trying.
  • ，。
    Tā mǎi le yí gè méi yòng de dōng xī, hòu huǐ jí le.
    He bought a useless thing and regretted it deeply.
  • ，。
    Zhè zhǒng cái liào méi shén yāo yòng, gàn bù liǎo dà shì.
    This material isn’t much use; it can’t do big things.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

没méihave no
用yònguse

没 means not having, 用 means use, so together it means having no use or being useless.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 沒; 没 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠬛
𠬛𠬛沒mò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 沒 pairs 水 (water) with 𠬛 as a sound part; this note is about 沒, not the simplified 没.

Open 没 →

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 →
Appears in
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