无名英雄 (wú míng yīng xióng) — unsung hero; unknown hero (a person who contributes selflessly without seeking recognition)

Definition

A hero whose name is not known or celebrated. The emphasis is on selflessness without public recognition — ordinary people doing extraordinary things quietly.

noun
unsung herounknown hero (a person who contributes selflessly without seeking recognition)

Examples

  • 无名英雄，。
    Zhè zuò chéng shì yǒu yí kuài wú míng yīng xióng jì niàn bēi, jì niàn nà xiē wèi hé píng xiàn chū shēng mìng de rén.
    This city has a monument to unknown heroes, commemorating those who gave their lives for peace.
  • ，无名英雄。
    Měi tiān líng chén gōng zuò de qīng jié gōng, shì wǒ men shēn biān zhēn zhèng de wú míng yīng xióng.
    The sanitation workers who work in the early morning are the true unknown heroes around us.
  • ，无名英雄。
    Tā mò mò zī zhù pín kùn xué shēng èr shí nián, dà jiā dōu chēng tā wèi wú míng yīng xióng.
    He quietly sponsored poor students for twenty years, and everyone calls him an unknown hero.

Origin

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.

无名
无wúwithout名míngname
动宾Verb + object
英雄
英yīngheroic雄xiónghero
联合Side by side

无名 means without a name, and 英雄 means hero, together describing an unsung hero.

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 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
央
央yāng英yīng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

英 pairs 艹 (grass) with 央, which gives the sound.

Open 英 →

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
隹隹zhuī
Sound part声符shēngfú
厷
厷gōng雄xióng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

雄 is formed by putting 隹 together with 厷, with 厷 giving the character's sound.

Open 雄 →

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