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无权 (wú quán) — to have no right, to not be authorized

Definition

A formal verb phrase meaning 'to have no right / not be authorized to' — stronger and more written than 沒资格. Often used in legal, institutional, or political contexts.

verb
to have no rightto not be authorized

Examples

  • 无权。
    Nǐ wú quán yāo qiú bié rén zuò nǐ bù xiǎng zuò de shì.
    You have no right to ask others to do things you don't want to do.
  • 无权。
    Wài rén shì wú quán gān shè wǒ men de nèi bù shì wù de.
    Outsiders have no right to interfere in our internal affairs.
  • 无权。
    Huì yuán men wú quán zài huì yì shàng tí chū fǎn duì yì jiàn.
    Members have no right to raise objections at the meeting.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

无wúhave no
权quánright

无 'have no' and 权 'right' combine to mean lacking authority.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 權; 权 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn權quán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 權 shows 木, a tree, with 雚 giving the sound; it named a kind of tree and was used for a standard weight. The simplified 权 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 权 →
Appears in
Rights & CitizenshipLaw & Justice

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