Meaning of 无奈
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to have no alternative
- frustrated
- exasperated
- helpless
- (conjunction) but unfortunately
How to use 无奈
无奈 often describes a helpless feeling or expression, as in 很无奈 (hěn wúnài) or 无奈地笑了 (wúnài de xiào le). As a conjunction it means "but unfortunately" and introduces an obstacle: 我想去，无奈没有时间。(Wǒ xiǎng qù, wúnài méiyǒu shíjiān.) I want to go, but unfortunately I have no time.
无 (wú) means "without" and 奈 (nài) appears in the phrase 奈何 (nàihé), "what can be done." Put together, 无奈 is "without anything to be done," the feeling of being stuck with no way out.
Common mistake: Learners mix up 无奈 with 无聊 (wúliáo). 无聊 means bored, while 无奈 means helpless or resigned, so 我很无奈 does not mean "I'm bored." Also keep 奈 (nài) in the fourth tone. Do not read it as nǎi.
无奈 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
无 wú · not to have · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
奈 nài · but · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 无奈.
| 无法 | wúfǎ | unable to; incapable of |
| 无论 | wúlùn | no matter what or how; regardless of whether... |
| 无聊 | wúliáo | bored; boring |
| 无所谓 | wúsuǒwèi | to be indifferent; not to matter |
| 无数 | wúshù | countless; numberless |
| 无限 | wúxiàn | unlimited; unbounded; infinite |
| 无疑 | wúyí | undoubtedly; without doubt |
| 无关 | wúguān | unrelated; having nothing to do (with sth else) |
| 无效 | wúxiào | not valid; ineffective |
| 无边 | wúbiān | without boundary; not bordered |
| 无辜 | wúgū | blameless; innocent; the innocent |
| 无论如何 | wúlùn-rúhé | (idiom) whatever the case; in any event; no matter what; by all possible means |
Questions about 无奈
What does 无奈 mean?
无奈 (wúnài) means "to have no alternative; frustrated" and is used as a verb and conjunction.
How do you write 无奈?
无奈 is made of 2 characters: 无 (4 strokes), 奈 (8 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 无奈 an HSK word?
Yes. 无奈 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 无奈 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 无奈 is written 無奈.
What is the difference between 无奈 and 没办法?
Both express having no choice. 没办法 (méi bànfǎ) is casual and very common in speech. 无奈 is a bit more literary and stresses the emotional feeling of helplessness or resignation.
Can 无奈 be used as a noun?
Yes, in writing it can refer to helplessness itself, as in 生活的无奈 (shēnghuó de wúnài), the frustrations of life. The set phrase 出于无奈 (chūyú wúnài) means "out of necessity, having no other choice."