# 无名之辈



## Romeo4755

无名之辈  /wu ming zhi bei/ I understand the meaning (nameless, insignificant person) but please could you explain to me the literal meaning. Does it mean tat the person has no name and no position in a family? What does the word 辈 exactly mean here?
Thank  you!


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## Lamb67

It is equal to Lei4,  the same kind, the same group of people. It is usually followed by something the speaker would be proud of😁
It's actually a way of showing modesty.

W would be more helpful if you gave us a sentence instead.


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## gonecar

无----No;
名----rank, title, position, fame;
之----used after an attribute;
辈----a person or people

无名之辈: a person or people who are nobody


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## Romeo4755

gonecar said:


> 无----No;
> 名----rank, title, position, fame;
> 之----used after an attribute;
> 辈----a person or people
> 
> 无名之辈: a person or people who are nobody


Aha, so 辈 here means 'people', not 'generation'?
Some stories (a movie,a TV show, a novel) has this title: 无名之辈 / They are titled in English as 'Nameless', so 名 is 'name' here.


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## albert_laosong

No, 无名 here means not well-known, so the 名 means fame here.
辈 can mean generation, but here it means this type of people, ie., those people who are not famous.
By the way, this is a fixed expression.


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## gonecar

This is from 新华字典:

*辈-*-----等，类（指人):吾辈。尔辈。辈出。*无能之辈*。

Nameless: unknown to fame; obscure (see dictionary.com /entry 7)


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## Romeo4755

gonecar said:


> This is from 新华字典:
> 
> *辈-*-----等，类（指人):吾辈。尔辈。辈出。*无能之辈*。
> 
> Nameless: unknown to fame; obscure (see dictionary.com /entry 7)


While entry 6 is:
having no legitimate paternal name, as a child born out of wedlock.
I really see 名 here as "name". With the meaning "nameless' being a metaphor for 'unknown'.



albert_laosong said:


> No, 无名 here means not well-known, so the 名 means fame here.
> 辈 can mean generation, but here it means this type of people, ie., those people who are not famous.
> By the way, this is a fixed expression.


Please, tell me what '之' means here, what word does it refer to& I don't understand the structure of the phrase/ I thought it is symmetrical with two negations (no name, no family - like that)/


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## Flaminius

The word _zhī_ here has no meaning, but it has a function.  That is to say, 之 shows that 无名 modifies the noun 辈.


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## gonecar

Romeo4755 said:


> While entry 6 is:
> having no legitimate paternal name, as a child born out of wedlock.
> I really see 名 here as "name". With the meaning "nameless' being a metaphor for 'unknown'.
> 
> 
> Please, tell me what '之' means here, what word does it refer to& I don't understand the structure of the phrase/ I thought it is symmetrical with two negations (no name, no family - like that)/


Ok, Let's say, 之 equals 的 here in the context.
Thereby:
无名之辈=无名的辈（NOTE: The later one with a 的 sounds really odd, just so you know. But it makes clear of the structure, that is, 无名modifies 辈.）

名, according to 新华字典:

*声誉：名誉。名声。名优（ａ．出名的，优良的；ｂ．名伶）。名噪一时。名过其实。

有声誉的，大家都知道的：名人。名士。名师。名将（jiàng ）。名医。名著。名流。名言。名胜。名剧。*

So, 名, in this context, means 声誉 as in *名*誉, and "*name*" as in "a big *name*".

For your reference here:
_He's a big name in gymnastics. = He is famous in gymnastics._


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## Romeo4755

> Ok, Let's say, 之 equals 的 here in the context.


Thank you very much for the explanations. I think at last I get it!


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## Litred

Romeo4755 said:


> What does the word 辈 exactly mean here?


"辈"means "person". I suppose this is the closest explanation.


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## Romeo4755

Ha-ha-ha! I'm sitting and reading an appreciation of a poem. And the author in the document is Song Wuming! No kidding!
And I started looking for the poet and than it dawned on me that it is an ANONYMOUS author from the SONG epoch!
宋无名氏  
Somebody just copied a computer translation.


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## Lamb67

_shi _ a family name ;
Actually _bei _in question is very close to "generation"-- a group of individuals sharing the same problem, values, and ideas etc.

I am such a person who has not made it yet. I am implying also I am not the only one.


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## Romeo4755

Lamb67 said:


> _shi _ a family name ;
> Actually _bei _in question is very much close to "generation"-- a group of individuals sharing the same problem, values, and ideas etc.
> 
> I am such a person who has not made it yet. And I am implying also I am not the only one.


Like in English "She is not much of a mother" (G. Darrel) i.e. her characteristics don't allow her to be called 'mother' in the full sense, she does not rightfully belong to the group.


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