Not praised, not thanked, not famous — even though the person (or thing) did something that deserved praise. It is almost always used before a noun, and by far the most common phrase is "unsung hero": someone who does important work that nobody notices or says thank you for.

Not praised沒有被稱讚，not thanked沒有被感謝，not famous也不出名——even though即使 the person (or thing) did something that deserved praise這個人（或東西）做了值得被稱讚的事。It is almost always used before a noun它幾乎都放在名詞前面，and by far the most common phrase is而目前最常見的說法是 'unsung hero'（無名英雄）：someone who does important work that nobody notices or says thank you for做著重要工作卻沒人注意、沒人道謝的人。

The cleaner who keeps a hospital safe, the mother who works two jobs, the assistant who does the real work while the boss gets the award — these are unsung heroes. You can also say "unsung heroine", "the unsung heroes of the war", or stretch it to things: "garlic is the unsung hero of this dish", which is a light, half-joking use you now hear a lot in food writing.

The cleaner who keeps a hospital safe讓醫院保持安全的清潔工, the mother who works two jobs身兼兩份工作的媽媽, the assistant who does the real work while the boss gets the award做真正工作、功勞卻被老闆拿走的助理——these are unsung heroes這些都是無名英雄。You can also say你也可以說 'unsung heroine'（無名女英雄）, 'the unsung heroes of the war'（戰爭中的無名英雄）, or stretch it to things或把它延伸到物品上：'garlic is the unsung hero of this dish''大蒜是這道菜裡的無名英雄'，which is a light, half-joking use you now hear a lot in food writing這是一種輕鬆、半開玩笑的用法，現在在美食寫作裡很常聽到。

The word carries a small feeling of injustice — the speaker thinks the praise SHOULD have come and did not. So it is warm toward the person and quietly critical of everyone else.

The word carries a small feeling of injustice這個字帶著一點點不公平的感覺——the speaker thinks the praise SHOULD have come and did not說話的人認為讚美本來應該要來、卻沒有來。So所以 it is warm toward the person and quietly critical of everyone else它對這個人是溫暖的，對其他人則帶著一種無聲的批評。

It comes from an old picture: in the past, heroes were praised in songs and poems, so a hero nobody sang about was forgotten. That picture is dead in the modern word — nobody is thinking about singing — but it explains the shape.

It comes from an old picture它來自一個古老的畫面：in the past以前，heroes were praised in songs and poems英雄會在歌曲和詩裡被歌頌，so a hero nobody sang about was forgotten所以沒有人歌頌的英雄就會被遺忘。That picture is dead in the modern word這個畫面在現代這個字裡已經死了——nobody is thinking about singing沒有人會想到「唱歌」這件事——but it explains the shape但它解釋了這個字的構造。

Note it is not a synonym for "unknown" or "unpopular": an unsung person may be well known, they just are not given the credit. And it is not used after "be" in normal speech; "he is unsung" sounds odd, "he is an unsung hero" is natural.

Note it is not a synonym for請注意，它不是 'unknown' 或 'unpopular' 的同義詞：an unsung person may be well known一個 unsung 的人可能很有名，they just are not given the credit他們只是沒有得到該有的功勞。And it is not used after 'be' in normal speech而且在一般口語裡它不會接在 'be' 後面單獨使用；'he is unsung' sounds odd聽起來很怪，'he is an unsung hero' is natural才是自然的說法。