从未 (cóng wèi) — never (before), never (in the past)

Definition

从未 is a written, emphatic 'never' (always negative, usually with 过). Stronger than the spoken 从来+不/没 and more formal than 从不.

adverb

never (before)never (in the past)

从未。
Wǒ cóng wèi chī guò zhè me hǎo chī de dōng xī.
I have never eaten such delicious food.
从未。
Tā cóng wèi zài gōng zuò zhōng fàn guò cuò wù.
He has never made a mistake at work.
从未。
Wǒ men cóng wèi huái yí guò tā de néng lì.
We have never doubted his abilities.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

The parts '从' and '未' combine 'from' and 'not yet', so it means never before.

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

Same sound today

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

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

The shape 未 shows a tree with extra branches spreading above its trunk, like lush, overlapping limbs.

Appears in