<p>甭 was initially known to exist in the speaking language of northern Chinese for &quot;不(bù)用(yòng)&quot; with the combined sound of &quot;béng&quot;, and later become a single word (合成字) of itself.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-17T03:16:43.650Z
2022-11-17T03:16:43.650Z
r13
<p>I think in phonetics, <code>甭</code> belongs to the Synaeresis word. What's more, it is also considered the Ideogrammic Character, since the meaning of <code>甭</code> is precisely the meaning of combining words <code>不(no)用(need)</code> .  There is a similar word, <code>嫑</code>, which in phonetics and the ideogrammic construction methods are also very much like <code>甭</code>. The meaning of <code>嫑</code> is <code>不(no)要(want)</code>. The opposite word of it is 嘦, means <code>只(only)要(want)</code>.</p>
<p>Besides this, there are also dozens of words that are Ideogrammic Characters,  such as</p>
<div class="s-table-container">
<table class="s-table">
<thead>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: left;">Character</th>
<th style="text-align: left;">English Meaing</th>
<th style="text-align: left;">Separated Characters &amp; Meaning</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><code>歪</code></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">askew</td>
<td style="text-align: left;"><code>不(not)正 (upright)</code></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><code>孬</code></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">weak</td>
<td style="text-align: left;"><code>不(not) 好 (good)</code></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
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2022-11-17T12:53:41.333Z
Excellent examples. They didn't pop up in my head.
r13
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2022-11-17T13:04:28.223Z
歪 does not quite belong here, though, does it. The character is certainly logographic, but the word itself doesn't seem to originate from the phonetic fusion of its components, unlike 甭 and the rest.
Sanchuan
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2022-11-17T13:42:58.987Z
While 歪 is logographically but not phonetically akin to 甭, 别 and 酱 are examples of the opposite case: phonetically but not logographically akin to 甭. Like 甭, they are used to indicate a phonetic contraction of two characters, respectively 不要 and 这样; unlike 甭, they don't show this in their written form. (I'm less certain about 别, but arguably the fact that its real meaning is "depart/differ/other", which is not too far from 不要 semantically, may have helped it become standard.)
Sanchuan
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2022-11-17T23:22:14.313Z
Synaeresis is new word for me!
Pedroski
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2022-11-18T06:45:02.500Z
@Sanchuan, Yes, you are right, the `甭` and `嫑` are both akin to the phonetic fusion of `不用` and `不要` in pronunciations and logographically to the stacking combination of `不用` and `不要`, whereas the `歪` and `孬` are only logographically similar to their counterparts in the combination words of `不正` and `不好`.
liqi3837671
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-18T06:53:57.760Z
@Pedroski Don't worry, it's not too much, and won't be used in formal writing. In fact words like `甭` and `嫑` are more likely to be the dialect in the north of the country,  the example you mentioned `甭去了！` is the 100% north style dialect.
liqi3837671
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-17T05:03:21.813Z
2022-11-17T05:03:21.813Z
liqi3837671
<p>Can't think of any right now, but I have seen other characters which are really 2 characters combined.</p>
<p>Is 甭 just the amalgamation,phonetically and graphically, of 不 and 用, or some other provenance?</p>
<p>我的朋友们也说：“甭去了！</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-17T03:16:35.203Z
yes, the pronunciations are similar when you read them fast
Tyr
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-17T22:28:56.460Z
Common in northern china, can be replaced with “别”
Shaw
<etymology>
Is 甭 just the amalgamation of 不 and 用?
# Is 甭 just the amalgamation of 不 and 用?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-11-17)

Can't think of any right now, but I have seen other characters which are really 2 characters combined.

Is 甭 just the amalgamation,phonetically and graphically, of 不 and 用, or some other provenance?

我的朋友们也说：“甭去了！

**Tags:** etymology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: yes, the pronunciations are similar when you read them fast  
> **username_2**: Common in northern china, can be replaced with “别”  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2022-11-17. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

I think in phonetics, `甭` belongs to the Synaeresis word. What's more, it is also considered the Ideogrammic Character, since the meaning of `甭` is precisely the meaning of combining words `不(no)用(need)` . There is a similar word, `嫑`, which in phonetics and the ideogrammic construction methods are also very much like `甭`. The meaning of `嫑` is `不(no)要(want)`. The opposite word of it is 嘦, means `只(only)要(want)`.

Besides this, there are also dozens of words that are Ideogrammic Characters, such as

| Character | English Meaing | Separated Characters & Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `歪` | askew | `不(not)正 (upright)` |
| `孬` | weak | `不(not) 好 (good)` |

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Excellent examples. They didn't pop up in my head.  
> **username_5**: 歪 does not quite belong here, though, does it. The character is certainly logographic, but the word itself doesn't seem to originate from the phonetic fusion of its components, unlike 甭 and the rest.  
> **username_5**: While 歪 is logographically but not phonetically akin to 甭, 别 and 酱 are examples of the opposite case: phonetically but not logographically akin to 甭. Like 甭, they are used to indicate a phonetic contraction of two characters, respectively 不要 and 这样; unlike 甭, they don't show this in their written form. (I'm less certain about 别, but arguably the fact that its real meaning is "depart/differ/other", which is not too far from 不要 semantically, may have helped it become standard.)  
> **username_0**: Synaeresis is new word for me!  
> **username_4**: @username_5, Yes, you are right, the `甭` and `嫑` are both akin to the phonetic fusion of `不用` and `不要` in pronunciations and logographically to the stacking combination of `不用` and `不要`, whereas the `歪` and `孬` are only logographically similar to their counterparts in the combination words of `不正` and `不好`.  
> **username_4**: @username_0 Don't worry, it's not too much, and won't be used in formal writing. In fact words like `甭` and `嫑` are more likely to be the dialect in the north of the country,  the example you mentioned `甭去了！` is the 100% north style dialect.  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2022-11-17. Score: 2

甭 was initially known to exist in the speaking language of northern Chinese for "不(bù)用(yòng)" with the combined sound of "béng", and later become a single word (合成字) of itself.


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