从无到有 (cóng wú dào yǒu) — to grow out of nothing, to create from scratch

Definition

Literally 'from nothing to having' — describes building or achieving something entirely from scratch, with no starting resources.

idiom
to grow out of nothingto create from scratch

Examples

  • 从无到有，。
    Zhè ge xiǎo gōng sī cóng wú dào yǒu, xiàn zài yǐ jīng hěn yǒu míng qì le.
    This small company grew out of nothing and is now very famous.
  • 从无到有，。
    Zhōng guó de háng tiān shì yè cóng wú dào yǒu, qǔ dé le jù dà chéng jiù.
    China's aerospace industry started from nothing and achieved great success.
  • 从无到有，。
    Tā de yì shù shēng yá cóng wú dào yǒu, fēi cháng bù róng yì.
    His artistic career grew out of nothing, which was really not easy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

从无from nothing
从cóngfrom无wúnothing
动宾Verb + object
到有to existence
到dàoto有yǒuexistence
动宾Verb + object

从无 and 到有 run together, moving from nothing to existence.

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 從; 从 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
从
从cóng從cóng
Same sound today

The traditional form 從 pairs 辵 (walk) with 从, which gives the sound; the character was originally written 从.

Open 从 →

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
至至zhìto arrive
Sound part声符shēngfú
刀
刀dāo到dào
Same sound today

到 combines 至, meaning 'to arrive', with 刀 as the sound part. The 至 part points to the idea of reaching a stopping point.

Open 到 →

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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