用不完 (yòng bù wán) — cannot be used up / cannot finish using (of resources or supplies)

Definition

A verb meaning 'cannot be used up' — there's too much of something (money, food, supplies) for it to be finished. Note 用不完 is a two-part verb (离合词) that cannot be inserted with other objects directly.

verb
cannot be used up / cannot finish using (of resources or supplies)

Examples

  • 用不完。
    Zhè xiē qián wǒ yòng bù wán.
    I can't use up all this money.
  • ，用不完。
    Shí wù tài duō le, wǒ men yòng bù wán.
    There's too much food; we can't finish it.
  • 用不完。
    Zhè zhāng shǒu jī kǎ lǐ de qián yòng bù wán.
    The credit on this phone card can never be used up.

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.

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

Open 用 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
元
元yuán完wán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

完 pairs 宀 (roof) with 元, which gives the sound.

Open 完 →

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