无名 (wú míng) — (attributive) nameless, unknown, anonymous; (attributive) indefinable, indescribable

Definition

Used attributively, often before a feeling (fear, sadness) for something vague and hard to name, or before a person for 'unknown / anonymous'. As an attributive adjective, it normally needs 的 before a noun phrase.

adjective
(attributive) namelessunknownanonymous(attributive) indefinableindescribable

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā shì yí gè wú míng yīng xióng, zuò le hěn duō hǎo shì méi yǒu rén zhī dào.
    He is an unknown hero who did many good deeds without anyone knowing.
  • 无名，。
    Tā gǎn dào yì zhǒng wú míng de bēi shāng, shuō bù qīng chǔ wèi shén me.
    She felt a nameless sadness, unable to say why.
  • 无名，。
    Xīn lǐ yǒu le yì zhǒng wú míng de kǒng jù, bù zhī dào gāi zěn me miàn duì.
    A nameless fear arose in their heart, unsure how to face it.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

无wúwithout
名míngname

无 means without and 名 means name; together they describe something lacking a name.

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 →

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

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →

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