了无生趣 (liǎo wú shēng qù) — lose all interest in life

Definition

A literary idiom for feeling completely devoid of joy or interest in life — a strong, written alternative to everyday 'boring / dull' (e.g. 无聊). Carries a bleak, existential tone.

idiom
lose all interest in life

Examples

  • 了无生趣。
    Tā duì shēng huó gǎn dào liǎo wú shēng qù.
    He feels utterly devoid of interest in life.
  • ，了无生趣。
    Zì cóng shī yè hòu, tā zhěng gè rén dōu liǎo wú shēng qù le.
    After losing his job, he lost all interest in life entirely.
  • 了无生趣。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō miáo xiě le yí gè liǎo wú shēng qù de líng hún.
    This novel portrays a soul that has lost all interest in life.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

了无completely lacking
了liǎocompletely无wúlacking
偏正Modifier + head
生趣interest in life
生shēnglife趣qùinterest
偏正Modifier + head

了 means completely, 无 means lacking, and 生趣 means interest in life; together they say one has no interest in life.

Characters in this word

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

了 was once drawn to show a baby with no arms; some old comments say it showed crossed or tangled legs.

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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.

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Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

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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
走走zǒuwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
取
取qǔ趣qù
Same sound today

趣 has 走, showing walking or hurrying, and 取, which gives the sound; the shape points to moving toward something.

Open 趣 →

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