无辜

無辜

wúgū

adjective HSK 7-9 #1,623

Meanings

1 innocent; guiltless
2 not guilty of any wrongdoing

Characters

Literally 'without guilt' — 辜 is a literary word for crime/sin that rarely appears outside this compound.

Examples

不要伤害无辜的人。

Bùyào shānghài wúgū de rén.

Don't harm innocent people.

很多无辜百姓受到了牵连。

Hěnduō wúgū bǎixìng shòudào le qiānlián.

Many innocent civilians were implicated.

Tips

usage

无辜 is commonly used in legal and news contexts. 无辜的眼神 (wúgū de yǎnshén, 'an innocent look') is also used colloquially to describe someone with big, doe-like eyes or a look of feigned innocence.

Stroke Order

无 wú

辜 gū