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无人 (wú rén) — unmanned, driverless (used for vehicles, systems); unattended, self-service (used for stores, services); depopulated, uninhabited (used for areas)

Definition

Literally 'without people,' used as a set modifier before a noun: unmanned (无人驾驶 driverless), self-service (无人商店), or uninhabited (无人区). Pronounced wú rén, not wúrén.

adjective
unmanneddriverless (used for vehicles, systems)unattendedself-service (used for stores, services)depopulateduninhabited (used for areas)

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè jià wú rén jī kě yǐ fēi dào hěn gāo de dì fāng.
    This drone can fly to very high places.
  • 无人。
    Zhè jiā wú rén shāng diàn èr shí sì xiǎo shí yíng yè.
    This self-service store is open 24 hours.
  • 无人，。
    Zhè ge dì qū wú rén jū zhù, suǒ yǐ hěn ān jìng.
    This area is uninhabited, so it's very quiet.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

无wúlack
人rénperson

“无” (lack) and “人” (person) combine to mean lacking people, so unmanned or uninhabited.

Characters in this word

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 of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
Appears in
Technology & Engineering

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