奈

Top radical 大 — a person standing with arms outstretched. In 奈 the figure stands above the altar 示 below, capturing the helpless gesture of someone facing forces beyond their control. This is the indexing radical even though the semantic logic is loose; learners should anchor 奈 as a 大-family character.

Bottom 示 originally pictured an altar where offerings were displayed to the spirits. Combined with 大 above, the image is a person standing before fate, helpless. This grounds the modern senses 无奈 (helpless), 奈何 (what can be done?), and 无可奈何 (utterly powerless).