没什么
méi shén me · HSK 1
it's nothing
🤷 没 (not have) + 什么 (anything) = literally 'not have anything' → nothing
没 negates possession/existence; 什么 means 'what/anything'. Together: 'not have what' → 'nothing' or dismissively 'it's nothing, never mind'. Same 没 as 没有 (don't have).
没 — water 氵 + 殳 (hand with weapon)
Originally depicted something sinking or being submerged in water, combining the water radical 氵 with 殳, suggesting a hand reaching into a whirlpool. The core sense was 'to sink, drown, disappear under water.' From there it extended to 'to vanish, not have,' giving the modern negative meaning 'not, have not.'