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无穷无尽 (wú qióng wú jìn) — inexhaustible, endless, infinite

Definition

A literary idiom for something that goes on forever — stronger than 永远 and broader than 无限, emphasizing that there is no end in sight.

idiom
inexhaustibleendlessinfinite

Examples

  • 无穷无尽。
    Dà zì rán de zī yuán bìng bú shì wú qióng wú jìn de.
    Natural resources are not inexhaustible.
  • 无穷无尽。
    Tā duì xué xí yǒu zhe wú qióng wú jìn de rè qíng.
    He has an inexhaustible passion for learning.
  • 无穷无尽，。
    Yǔ zhòu shì wú qióng wú jìn de, wǒ men hái yǒu hěn duō wèi zhī.
    The universe is infinite; we still have much that is unknown.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

无穷no limit
无wúnot have穷qiónglimit
动宾Verb + object
无尽no end
无wúnot have尽jìnend
动宾Verb + object

无穷 (no limit) and 无尽 (no end) combine to mean inexhaustible.

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 窮; 穷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave; nest; confinement
Sound part声符shēngfú
躬
躬gōng窮qióng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 窮, 穴 (cave; nest; confinement) gives the sense and 躬 gives the sound; this is about 窮, not the simplified 穷.

Open 穷 →

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盡; 尽 is its simplified writing.

  • 聿聿yùhand holding a brush
  • 灬灬huǒbristles
  • 皿皿mǐndish

The traditional form 盡 shows 聿 (hand holding a brush) and 灬 (bristles) over 皿 (dish), cleaning a dish until it is empty. The simplified 尽 is a shorthand, not those historical parts.

Open 尽 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 6Abstract ConceptsIdioms & Set Phrases

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