HSK · Level 36
120 words
Chinese word
无情
Pronunciation
Pinyinwú qíng
Meaning
- adjectiveheartless
Example
他对别人很无情。tā duì bié rén hěn wú qíng
He is very heartless toward others.
More examples
老板在会议上对员工的错误表现得很无情。láo bǎn zài huì yì shàng duì yuán gōng de cuò wù biǎo xiàn de hěn wú qíng
At the meeting, the boss acted very heartlessly toward the employees' mistakes.
Core concept
A closed heart leaves another person's pain unanswered and allows cold treatment.
Common phrases
对亲人无情duì qīn rén wú qíng
be heartless toward one's family
无情的措施wú qíng de cuò shī
cruel measures
表现得无情biǎo xiàn de wú qíng
act heartlessly
Similar words
冷淡lěng dàn: Gives a cool, distant response that suggests little interest in the other person.
冷漠lěng mò: Keeps feelings hidden and appears unconcerned about what happens to others.
冷酷lěng kù: Shows no pity and uses severe, uncompromising treatment toward others.
Definition in Chinese
没有感情或同情心，对他人表现出冷漠或残忍的态度。méi yǒu gǎn qíng huò tóng qíng xīn duì tā rén biǎo xiàn chū lěng mò huò cán rěn de tài dù
Word origin
无 (wú, "without") + 情 (qíng, "feeling") makes the absence of human feeling the word's central image.
Usage tips
- The word carries clear blame, so using it about a person can sound severe even when the intended criticism is only that a response was unsympathetic.
Other meanings
- crueladjective
Opposites
- 体贴tǐ tiēthoughtfuladjective
- 有同情心yǒu tóng qíng xīnsympatheticadjective
Related words
- 无情地wú qíng dìheartlesslyadverb