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无边 (wú biān) — boundless, limitless

Definition

Literary ‘boundless, limitless’ (space, time, or abstract things like joy or suffering). More formal/written than 广大, and not used as a transitive verb.

verb
boundlesslimitless

Examples

  • 无边，。
    Dà hǎi wú biān, wàng bú dào biān.
    The sea is boundless — you can't see the edge.
  • 无边。
    Tā de tòng kǔ wú biān.
    His pain is boundless.
  • 无边。
    Zhù nǐ kuài lè wú biān.
    Wishing you boundless happiness.

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
边biānedge

无 means without, and 边 means edge; together they say there is no edge.

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 邊; 边 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalking; movement
Sound part声符shēngfú
臱
臱mián邊biān(r)
Same sound today

The traditional form 邊 pairs 辶 (walking; movement) with the sound part 臱; the simplified 边 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 边 →
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