无依无靠 (wú yī wú kào) — to have no one to depend on; to be utterly alone and without support

Definition

A four-character idiom meaning completely alone, with no one to rely on — often used for orphans, the elderly, or anyone in a vulnerable situation. Pairs naturally with 孤独 to emphasize emotional isolation.

idiom
to have no one to depend onto be utterly alone and without support

Examples

  • ,无依无靠,。
    Tā cóng xiǎo fù mǔ shuāng wáng, wú yī wú kào, zhǐ néng kào zì jǐ.
    He lost both parents as a child, had no one to depend on, and could only rely on himself.
  • 无依无靠,。
    Nà wèi lǎo rén wú yī wú kào, lín jū men jīng cháng bāng zhù tā.
    That elderly person has no one to depend on; the neighbors often help him.
  • ,无依无靠,。
    Zài yì guó tā xiāng, tā gǎn dào wú yī wú kào, fēi cháng gū dú.
    In a foreign country, he felt he had no one to depend on and was very lonely.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

无依no support
无wúno依yīsupport
动宾Verb + object
无靠no reliance
无wúno靠kàoreliance
动宾Verb + object

无依 says no support and 无靠 says no reliance, so it means having no one to depend on.

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 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénhuman
Sound part声符shēngfú
衣
衣yī依yī
Same sound today

依 is made from 亻, a person, plus 衣, which gives its sound.

Open 依 →

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
告
告gào靠kào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

靠 is made of 告 and 非: 告 gives the sound, and 非 gives the meaning.

Open 靠 →

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