无 (wú) is a Chinese character meaning “not have”. It is written from 一 (one) and 尢 (lame; bent leg), one above the other, and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “not have; without”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
一 + 尢
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode U+65E0 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (stroke 0 forms 一; strokes 1–3 match the three strokes of 尢)
Memory aid
A single flat line (一) presses down on the bent, leaning 尢: everything is flattened away until there is nothing left.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 无法wú fǎunable to; cannot无 = wú
- 无论wú lùnno matter what; regardless of无 = wú
- 无奈wú nàihelpless; to have no choice无 = wú
- 无敌wú díinvincible; unmatched无 = wú
- 无畏wú wèifearless; dauntless无 = wú
- 无耻wú chǐshameless无 = wú
- 无聊wú liáobored; boring无 = wú
- 无辜wú gūinnocent; guiltless无 = wú
- 无限wú xiànunlimited; infinite; boundless无 = wú
- 有恃无恐yǒu shì wú kǒngto be fearless because one has backing无 = wú
Go deeper
All readings
not have; without
not have; there is not; without; un-; regardless of
没有；不。多用于书面语和固定词语。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 无法wú fǎunable to; cannot无 = wú
- 无论wú lùnno matter what; regardless of无 = wú
- 无奈wú nàihelpless; to have no choice无 = wú
- 无敌wú díinvincible; unmatched无 = wú
- 无畏wú wèifearless; dauntless无 = wú
- 无耻wú chǐshameless无 = wú
- 无聊wú liáobored; boring无 = wú
- 无辜wú gūinnocent; guiltless无 = wú
- 无限wú xiànunlimited; infinite; boundless无 = wú
- 有恃无恐yǒu shì wú kǒngto be fearless because one has backing无 = wú
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 无 mean?
无 (wú) means not have; there is not; without; un-; regardless of.
How do you pronounce 无?
It is pronounced wú.
What parts is 无 made of?
一 (one) and 尢 (lame; bent leg), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+65E0 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (stroke 0 forms 一; strokes 1–3 match the three strokes of 尢). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 无 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 无?
无. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 无?
Common ones are 无法 and 无论. The reading of 无 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.