群龙无首 (qún lóng wú shǒu) — (idiom) a group without a leader; leaderless

Definition

A chengyu describing a group that lacks a leader, so it cannot function effectively. Literally 'a flock of dragons without a head'.

idiom
a group without a leaderleaderless

Examples

  • 群龙无首，。
    Zhè ge tuán duì xiàn zài qún lóng wú shǒu, shén me shì dōu zuò bù liǎo.
    This team is now leaderless and can't get anything done.
  • ，群龙无首。
    Gōng sī gāo céng cí zhí hòu, zhěng gè bù mén qún lóng wú shǒu.
    After the top management resigned, the whole department was like a group of dragons without a head.
  • 群龙无首，。
    Gé mìng yùn dòng rú guǒ qún lóng wú shǒu, jiù hěn nán chéng gōng.
    If a revolutionary movement lacks a leader, it's hard for it to succeed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

群龙group of dragons
群qúngroup龙lóngdragons
偏正Modifier + head
无首without a head
无wúwithout首shǒuhead
动宾Verb + object

A group of dragons without a head means there is no leader.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
君
君jūn群
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

群 pairs 羊, a sheep, to point to a herd or group, with 君 giving the sound.

Open 群 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 龍; 龙 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 龍 originally drew a sacred creature with a large mouth and a snake-like body; the simplified 龙 is the form written here.

Open 龙 →

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 →

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

The shape comes from an old drawing of an animal's head, showing a long mouth and horns; the version with hair became 首.

Open 首 →

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