杳无音信
yǎo wú yīn xìn
not a word heard; no news at all of someone
Character by character
杳yǎo
vanished
vanished
无wú
without
without
音yīn
sound
sound
信xìn
letter
letter
Example
他十几年前去南方打工，后来就杳无音信了。
He went south to work more than ten years ago, and nobody has heard from him since.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
杳 (yǎo, not 查 chá) means distant and lost from sight; 音信 is news. It follows 从此, 后来 or 一直 and is said of people who vanish; 音信全无 and 杳无音讯 mean the same.
Learn this in Lesson 153 · HSK 7–9: 宝贝回家 (Bringing the children home)
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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