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无奈

無奈
wúnài
adjective/conjunction HSK 5 #15,152

Meanings

  1. 1 helpless; having no alternative
  2. 2 but unfortunately; however (literary)

Characters

无
wú
without; lacking
奈
nài
how; what (literary)
Without a 'what to do' — helpless, with no alternative.

Examples

他无奈地摇了摇头。
Tā wúnài de yáo le yáo tóu.
He shook his head helplessly.
面对这种情况，我们很无奈。
Miànduì zhè zhǒng qíngkuàng, wǒmen hěn wúnài.
Facing this situation, we feel helpless.
虽然不想去，但无奈没有别的选择。
Suīrán bù xiǎng qù, dàn wúnài méiyǒu bié de xuǎnzé.
Although I didn't want to go, unfortunately there was no other choice.

Tips

usage
无奈 expresses resigned helplessness — you don't like the situation but can't change it. 实属无奈 (shí shǔ wúnài) = truly helpless/no choice at all.
usage
Similar: 无可奈何 (wú kě nài hé) is the full four-character idiom meaning 'having no way out; utterly helpless.'

Stroke Order

无 wú
奈 nài