TongTong
Sign in

毫不犹豫 (háo bù yóu yù) — without the slightest hesitation; without any hesitation

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'without any hesitation' — 毫不 is an emphatic negation ('not the slightest'), so the whole phrase is stronger and more literary than just saying 不犹豫. Often used as an adverbial with 地 before a verb.

idiom
without the slightest hesitationwithout any hesitation

Examples

  • 毫不犹豫。
    Tā háo bù yóu yù dì dā ying le wǒ men de qǐng qiú.
    He agreed to our request without the slightest hesitation.
  • ，毫不犹豫。
    Miàn duì kùn nan, tā háo bù yóu yù dì xuǎn zé le jiān chí.
    Faced with difficulties, she chose to persevere without any hesitation.
  • ，毫不犹豫。
    Tīng dào zhè ge hǎo xiāo xi, tā háo bù yóu yù dì tiào le qǐ lái.
    Hearing the good news, he jumped up without the slightest hesitation.

Origin

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.

The written form 毫 is built from 高 and 毛.

Open 毫 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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 猶; 犹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
酋
酋qiú猶yóu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 猶 combines 犬 (dog) with 酋 as a sound part, and the evidence identifies it as a kind of monkey. The simplified 犹 is a shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 犹 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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