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無計可施

简无计可施 · 繁無計可施

Mandarin · pinyin wú jì kě shī

(lit.) to have no strategy to apply (idiom)
(fig.) to be out of ideas; at one's wit's end

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Characters in this entry

無: Look up this written character
計: Look up this written character
可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
施: shī · grant, bestow; give; act; name
无: wú · negative, no, not; Kangxi radical 71
计: jì · plan, plot; stratagem; scheme

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–3–1 · wu2 ji4 ke3 shi1

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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.

無計可施 · find source passages ↗ · 无计可施 · find source passages ↗

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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) at a loss as to what to do; at one's wits' end; at the end of one's tether

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

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