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未尝 (wèi cháng) — never (before); not yet; (with negating words) it is not that...not...; not necessarily not

Definition

Adverb with two uses: before a positive verb = 'never (have done)'; before a negative word (不/没有) = 'not that…not…' (a softer, double-negative way to concede a point).

adverb
never (before)not yet(with negating words) it is not that...not...not necessarily not

Examples

  • 未尝。
    Tā wèi cháng cháng guò shī bài de zī wèi.
    He has never tasted the flavor of failure.
  • 未尝。
    Zhè ge bàn fǎ wèi cháng bù kě xíng.
    This method is not necessarily infeasible.
  • 未尝。
    Wǒ wèi cháng méi yǒu kǎo lǜ guò zhè ge wèn tí.
    It is not that I haven't considered this problem.

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.

未wèinot
尝chángonce/ever

未 gives not, and 尝 gives once or ever, yielding never or not yet.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 未 shows a tree with extra branches spreading above its trunk, like lush, overlapping limbs.

Open 未 →

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 嘗; 尝 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 尝 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (尝, 尝试) it is 嘗; in others (品尝) it is 嚐.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
旨旨zhǐtasty
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng嘗cháng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 嘗 pairs 旨 (tasty) with 尚, which supplies the sound; the simplified 尝 is a later shorthand.

Open 尝 →
Appears in
Frequency & Duration

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