TongTong
Sign in

毫不相干 (háo bù xiāng gān) — totally unrelated; completely irrelevant

Definition

Strong written/idiomatic phrase meaning 'totally unrelated'. More emphatic than everyday 没关系 or 没关系 — emphasizes zero connection, often used in formal writing or argumentation.

idiom
totally unrelatedcompletely irrelevant

Examples

  • 毫不相干。
    Zhè liǎng jiàn shì wán quán háo bù xiāng gān.
    These two matters are completely unrelated.
  • 毫不相干。
    Tā de guān diǎn yǔ shì shí háo bù xiāng gān.
    His viewpoint is totally unrelated to the facts.
  • 毫不相干。
    Nǐ tí de wèn tí hé jīn tiān de zhǔ tí háo bù xiāng gān.
    The question you raised is completely irrelevant to today's topic.

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.

毫不not at all
毫háominute amount不bùnot
偏正Modifier + head
相干related
相xiāngmutually干gānrelate
偏正Modifier + head

毫 as a minute amount, 不 as not, 相 as mutually, and 干 as relate together mean having no mutual connection.

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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