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有用 (yǒu yòng) — useful

Definition

General word for 'useful' — applies to anything helpful. 实用 is more about being practical and functional (tools, methods); 益 (有益) emphasizes actual benefit (health, learning).

adjective
useful

Examples

  • 有用。
    Zhè ge shǒu jī hěn yǒu yòng.
    This phone is very useful.
  • 有用。
    Xué zhōng wén hěn yǒu yòng.
    Learning Chinese is very useful.
  • 有用。
    Nǐ gěi wǒ de jiàn yì fēi cháng yǒu yòng.
    The advice you gave me is very useful.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

有yǒuhave
用yònguse

“有” (have) and “用” (use) combine to mean having use, hence useful.

Characters in this word

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3Good & Bad5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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