无绳 (wú shéng) — cordless, wireless (of telephones, devices)

Definition

Adjective meaning 'cordless / wireless', used to describe devices like phones or vacuum cleaners that have no cable. Pairs with nouns such as 电话, 吸尘器, 耳机 — not used for general 'wireless' concepts (e.g. Wi-Fi).

adjective
cordlesswireless (of telephones, devices)

Examples

  • 无绳。
    Wǒ mǎi le yí bù wú shéng diàn huà.
    I bought a cordless phone.
  • 无绳。
    wú shéng Xī chén qì yòng qǐ lái hěn fāng biàn.
    A cordless vacuum cleaner is very convenient to use.
  • 无绳。
    Zhè zhǒng wú shéng ěr jī xù háng hěn cháng.
    This type of wireless earbuds has a long battery life.

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
绳shéngcord

无绳 pairs 无, without, and 绳, cord, to describe a device that works without a wire.

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 繩; 绳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
黽
黽mǐn繩shéng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 繩 is built from 糸, the rope/string part, and 黽, the sound part.

Open 绳 →

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