The quality of putting other people before yourself. This is the noun — the thing itself, not the person and not the action.

The quality of putting other people before yourself把別人放在自己前面的那種特質。This is the noun這是名詞形式——the thing itself, not the person and not the action指的是這個特質本身，不是那個人，也不是那個行為。

So we say 'his unselfishness surprised everyone', 'an act of unselfishness', 'she showed great unselfishness'. It names a character trait, something you can have a lot of or a little of. Because it is a noun, it does not usually take 'a' or 'an' on its own: 'she has unselfishness' sounds odd; people say 'an act of unselfishness' or 'a rare unselfishness about her'.

So we say 'his unselfishness surprised everyone'所以我們會說「his unselfishness surprised everyone」（他的無私讓大家都很驚訝）、'an act of unselfishness'「an act of unselfishness」（一個無私的舉動）、'she showed great unselfishness'「she showed great unselfishness」（她展現了很大的無私）。It names a character trait它指的是一種性格特質，something you can have a lot of or a little of可以有很多，也可以只有一點點。Because it is a noun, it does not usually take 'a' or 'an' on its own因為它是名詞，通常不會自己搭配'a'或'an'：'she has unselfishness' sounds odd「she has unselfishness」聽起來怪怪的——people say 'an act of unselfishness' or 'a rare unselfishness about her'大家會說「an act of unselfishness」或「a rare unselfishness about her」。

It turns up most in serious places — funeral speeches, awards, school reports, articles about volunteers and about sport. In ordinary conversation Taiwanese students will hear 'she's so unselfish' far more often than 'her unselfishness'.

It turns up most in serious places它最常出現在比較嚴肅的場合——funeral speeches, awards, school reports, articles about volunteers and about sport喪禮致詞、頒獎、學校報告、講志工和運動的文章裡。In ordinary conversation Taiwanese students will hear 'she's so unselfish' far more often than 'her unselfishness'在日常對話裡，台灣學生聽到「she's so unselfish」的機會會比「her unselfishness」多很多。

Worth knowing: many writers prefer 'selflessness', which sounds stronger and grander — unselfishness sounds more everyday and more human-sized, more like a good habit than a saintly virtue.

Worth knowing值得知道的是：many writers prefer 'selflessness'很多作家比較喜歡用「selflessness」，which sounds stronger and grander聽起來更強烈、更宏大——unselfishness sounds more everyday and more human-sizedunselfishness聽起來比較日常、比較貼近一般人，more like a good habit than a saintly virtue比較像是一個好習慣，而不是聖人般的美德。