无度 (wú dù) — excessive, immoderate (formal, often used in literary or official contexts)

Definition

Used in formal or written Chinese to mean 'excessive, without measure' — typically modifies behaviors like drinking, spending, or indulgence, carrying a stronger negative judgment than simply 'too much'.

verb
excessiveimmoderate (formal, often used in literary or official contexts)

Examples

  • 无度，。
    Tā yǐn jiǔ wú dù, zuì zhōng sǔn hài le jiàn kāng.
    He drank excessively and eventually damaged his health.
  • 无度。
    Zhè zhǒng huī huò wú dù de shēng huó fāng shì bù kě qǔ.
    This lifestyle of excessive spending is not advisable.
  • ，无度。
    Yú lè yīng dāng yǒu jié zhì, bù yí wú dù.
    Entertainment should be moderate; one should not overdo 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
度dùlimit

无 says there is no limit, and 度 is the limit, giving the sense of excess.

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
又又yòuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
石
石shí度dù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

度 has 又 (hand) and a changed form of 石; 石 gives a related sound, and the hand is tied to using the hand as a reference for measurement.

Open 度 →

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