无所顾忌 (wú suǒ gù jì) — to stop at nothing; to be unscrupulous (four-character idiom)

Definition

A four-character idiom (chengyu) meaning someone acts with no scruples or restraint, willing to do anything to reach a goal. Stronger and more literary than everyday words like 不管 or 不顾.

idiom
to stop at nothingto be unscrupulous (four-character idiom)

Examples

  • ,无所顾忌。
    Tā wèi le zhuàn qián, jiǎn zhí wú suǒ gù jì.
    He stops at nothing to make money.
  • 无所顾忌,。
    Zhè ge rén wú suǒ gù jì, shén me huài shì dōu gǎn zuò.
    This person is unscrupulous and dares to do any bad thing.
  • ,无所顾忌。
    Zài jìng zhēng zhōng, tā wú suǒ gù jì dì cǎi qǔ gè zhǒng shǒu duàn.
    In competition, he stops at nothing, using all kinds of methods.

Origin

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
斤斤jīnaxe
Sound part声符shēngfú
戶
戶hù所suǒ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

所 pairs 斤, an axe, with 戶, which gives the sound hù; the old meaning was the sound of logging.

Open 所 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 顧; 顾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
雇
雇gù顧gù
Same sound today

The traditional form 顧 combines 雇 as a sound part and 頁 as a meaning part; 顾 is the simplified form of 顧.

Open 顾 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
己
己jǐ忌jì
Same sound today

忌 combines 己, which gives the sound, with 心, the heart, as the part connected to the meaning.

Open 忌 →

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