无 所 作 为

wú suǒ zuò wéidictionary entry

attempting nothing and accomplishing nothing (idiom) / without any initiative or drive / feckless

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-9852e1fce8b43ebd. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

無所作為 无所作为 [wu2 suo3 zuo4 wei2] /attempting nothing and accomplishing nothing (idiom); without any initiative or drive/feckless/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 無所作為

无
mó
used in 南無|南无[nā mó]
wú
not to have / no / none / not / to lack / un- / -less
所
suǒ
actually / place / classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc / that which / particle introducing a relative clause or passive / CL:個|个[gè]
作
zuō
(bound form) worker / (bound form) workshop / (slang) troublesome / high-maintenance (person)
zuò
to do / to engage in / to write / to compose / to pretend / to feign / to regard as / to consider to be / to be / to act the part of / to feel (itchy, nauseous etc) / writings / works
为
wéi
as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do / by (in the passive voice)
wèi
because of / for / to

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.