Where does “不用” come from?

不用 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 不, from Middle Chinese 不.

不用 (Japanese): Alternative form of 不要

Definitions

  1. Alternative form of 不要

Ancestry of “不用”, step by step

不用 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 不

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese不un-, non-, in-; bad, poor
2Middle Chinese不—

via Japanese 用

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese用use; a task, business, an errand; for the use of,...
2Middle Chinese用—
Every word from Middle Chinese 不 →Every word from Japanese 不 →