TongTong
Sign in

独一无二 (dú yī wú èr) — unique and unmatched; nothing compares with it

Definition

Means 'one and only' — absolute, unrivalled uniqueness. Stronger than 与众不同, which only means 'different from the crowd' and can still be merely unusual.

phrase
unique and unmatchednothing compares with it

Examples

  • 独一无二。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī tí gōng de fú wù shì dú yī wú èr de.
    The services provided by this company are unique.
  • 独一无二，。
    Tā men de hé zuò mó shì dú yī wú èr, fēi cháng chéng gōng.
    Their cooperation model is unmatched, very successful.
  • 独一无二。
    Zhè zhǒng dú yī wú èr de yì shù pǐn zài quán shì jiè zhǐ yǒu yí jiàn.
    This unique artwork is the only one in the world.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

独一alone one
独dúalone一yīone
联合Coordinate
无二no second
无wúwithout二èrsecond
动宾Verb + object

独 means alone and 一 means one, while 无二 adds the sense of no second, together expressing unmatched uniqueness.

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 獨; 独 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犭Written in full as犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
蜀
蜀shǔ獨dú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 獨 pairs 犬 (dog) with 蜀, which gives the sound; the simplified 独 is a shorthand.

Open 独 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

二 is drawn as two parallel strokes, where the number of strokes shows the amount.

Open 二 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set Phrases

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