无限大 (wú xiàn dà) — infinitely great (mathematics)

Definition

noun
infinitely great (mathematics)

Examples

  • ，无限大。
    Zài shù xué zhōng, wú xiàn dà shì yí gè zhòng yào de gài niàn.
    In mathematics, the infinitely great is an important concept.
  • 无限大。
    Zhè ge gōng shì miáo shù le wú xiàn dà de xìng zhì.
    This formula describes the properties of the infinitely great.
  • 无限大。
    Wǒ men yán jiū le wú xiàn dà zài wēi jī fēn zhōng de yìng yòng.
    We studied the application of the infinitely great in calculus.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

无限
无wúwithout限xiànlimit
动宾Verb + object
大dàgreat

无限 means without limit, and 大 means great, together expressing infinitely great.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⻖Written in full as阜fùmound
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn限xiàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

限 pairs ⻖ (mound, written 阜) with 艮 as a sound part; the mound side gives the sense of a boundary or limit.

Open 限 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.