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无言 (wú yán) — to remain silent, to have nothing to say

Definition

An elevated, written-sounding verb for being left speechless or falling silent — typically from surprise, emotion, or being at a loss, rather than a neutral choice not to speak.

verb
to remain silentto have nothing to say

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā tīng le zhè ge xiāo xi hòu, wú yán yǐ duì.
    After hearing this news, he was speechless.
  • ，无言。
    Miàn duì lǎo shī de pī píng, tā wú yán.
    Facing the teacher's criticism, he remained silent.
  • 无言，。
    Liǎng rén xiāng duì wú yán, qì fen hěn gān gà.
    The two faced each other in silence, the atmosphere was very awkward.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

无wúnot have
言yánwords

无 means not having and 言 means words, so the idea is having nothing to say.

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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early form of 言 shows an opening and a mark indicating a location; the location is not described as the source of speech.

Open 言 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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