毫不／毫无
not in the slightest; without the least (written or emphatic)
Structure
毫不 双音节动词／形容词 · 毫无 双音节名词
What it means
Both mean “not even a little” (毫 is a tiny unit). 毫不 is a stronger 不; 毫无 is a stronger 没有.
How it is built
毫不 + two-syllable verb／adjective: 他毫不犹豫地跳了下去 (he jumped in without hesitating). 毫无 + two-syllable noun: 这跟我毫无关系 (this has nothing to do with me).
When to use it
Written or emphatic; in speech say 一点儿也不 or 一点儿也没有. 毫不 + 客气, 在乎, 掩饰, 费力; 毫无 + 办法, 疑问, 准备, 意义. Lesson 2-15 paired 毫无 with 丝毫不.
Watch out
The usual mistake is swapping them: ✗ 毫不关系 ✓ 毫无关系; ✗ 毫无客气 ✓ 毫不客气. Both want a two-syllable word (✗ 毫不好) and take no 很.
Examples
厂长毫不掩饰自己的偏见。
The factory director made no secret at all of his prejudice.
这些问题跟我会不会写代码毫无关系。
Such questions have nothing whatsoever to do with whether I can write code.
看到有人落水，他毫不犹豫地跳了下去。
Seeing someone fall into the water, he jumped in without a moment’s hesitation.
这样吵下去毫无意义，我们还是坐下来好好谈谈吧。
Arguing like this is completely pointless; let’s sit down and talk it through properly.
Learn this in Lesson 50 · HSK 5–6: 半边天 (Women hold up half the sky)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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