举世无双
jǔ shì wú shuāng · HSK 7
unique
🏆 举世(whole world) + 无双(without a pair) = no second one exists anywhere
举世 means across the entire world; 无双 means lacking a counterpart or duplicate. Put together: in all the world there is not a single match, so the thing stands completely alone at the top.
举 — hands 𠆢 + give 与 (simplified from 擧)
Originally written 擧, showing hands (手) lifting something together with the phonetic 與 'together'. The simplified form 举 keeps the idea of many hands raising up. Core meaning 'to lift, raise' extended to 'to launch, propose, hold (an event)'.
无 — top 一 + 林-like middle + fire radical 灬 below
Originally a pictograph of a person dancing while holding ornaments or tassels, meaning 'to dance' — the ancestor of 舞. It was borrowed phonetically to write the negative 'not have / without,' and the dance meaning was reassigned to 舞 with an added foot element. The simplified form 无 comes from an ancient variant.
双 — two 又 (right hands) side by side
Originally written 雙 with two 隹 (short-tailed birds) over 又 (hand), depicting a pair of birds held in one hand, hence 'pair' or 'two'. The modern simplified form 双 keeps just two 又 hands side by side as a visual shorthand for 'a pair'. Meaning broadened to 'double' or 'even-numbered'.