無用

简 无用 · 繁 無用
Mandarin · pinyin wú yòng

Meanings

  1. useless
  2. worthless
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

無
Look up this written character
用
yòng · use, employ, apply, operate; use
无
wú · negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–4 · wu2 yong4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

2character links1same-tone record
Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

無用 · find source passages ↗ · 无用 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

  1. to be useless; to be of no use; to be a waste of time

adv

  1. (Hainanese) need not
  2. (Hainanese) don't

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack