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愛莫能助

简爱莫能助 · 繁愛莫能助

Mandarin · pinyin ài mò néng zhù

unable to help however much one would like to (idiom); Although we sympathize, there is no way to help you.
My hands are tied.

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Characters in this entry

愛: ài · love, be fond of, like
莫: mò · do not, is not, can not; negative
能: néng · to be able; can, permitted to; ability
助: zhù · help, aid, assist
爱: ài · love, be fond of, like

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–4 · ai4 mo4 neng2 zhu4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

愛莫能助 · find source passages ↗ · 爱莫能助 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

oi3 mok6 nang4 zo6

Cantonese word readings for 愛莫能助. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) unable to help, despite wanting to

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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