没事儿 (méi shì r) — to have nothing to do, to be free/spare (not bu…

Definition

Colloquial all-purpose "I'm fine / it's nothing" — used to reply to thanks or apologies, and to mean "free, not busy."

verb

to have nothing to doto be free/spare (not busy)it's nothingit doesn't matternever mindno problem

没事儿，。
Wǒ jīn tiān méi shì r, kě yǐ péi nǐ qù guàng jiē.
I'm free today; I can go shopping with you.
——，。——没事儿，。
—— Duì bu qǐ, wǒ lái wǎn le. —— méi shì r, kuài jìn lái zuò ba.
—Sorry I'm late.—It's nothing, come in and sit down.
？——没事儿，。
Nǐ méi shì ba? —— wǒ méi shì r, bié dān xīn.
Are you okay?—I'm fine, don't worry.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

没méinot have

事儿thing

后缀Suffix

没 means not have and 事儿 means a thing, so together they say there is no thing to worry about.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 沒; 没 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠬛

𠬛𠬛沒mò

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 沒 pairs 水 (water) with 𠬛 as a sound part; this note is about 沒, not the simplified 没.

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

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

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Appears in