无效
wúxiào · HSK 6
null and void
🚫 无 (no/without) + 效 (effect) = no effect, invalid
Think of a stamped document crossed out — 无 negates and 效 means result or efficacy. Together they describe something that produces zero outcome, like a voided contract or a futile attempt.
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.