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無可奈何

简无可奈何 · 繁無可奈何

Mandarin · pinyin wú kě nài hé

have no way out
have no alternative
abbr. to 無奈 wú nài

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Characters in this entry

無: Look up this written character
可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
奈: nài · but, how; bear, stand, endure
何: hé · what, why, where, which, how
无: wú · negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–4–2 · wu2 ke3 nai4 he2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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無可奈何 · find source passages ↗ · 无可奈何 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mou4 ho2 noi6 ho4

Cantonese word readings for 無可奈何. 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.

verb

to have no way out; to have no alternative; to have no choice; to feel helpless about; to be unable to do anything with; to resign oneself to (doing something unpleasant); to be at the end of one's resources

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

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