无能为力
wúnéngwéilì
powerless; unable to do anything
Characters in this word
能 néng
- Strokes
- 10
- Radical
- ⺼ — meat, flesh
- How it's built
- Pictograph — a drawing of the thing
为 wèi
- Strokes
- 4
- Radical
- 丶 — dot
力 lì
- Strokes
- 2
- Radical
- 力 — strength, power
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
Example phrases
- 面对这么大的灾难，普通人常常感到无能为力。 Miànduì zhème dà de zāinàn, pǔtōng rén chángcháng gǎndào wúnéngwéilì. Faced with such a huge disaster, ordinary people often feel powerless.
- 婴儿哭个不停，第一次带孩子的爸爸无能为力。 Yīng'ér kū gè bù tíng, dì yī cì dài háizi de bàba wúnéngwéilì. The baby cries non-stop, and the father, caring for a child for the first time, is powerless.
- 他试着修了半天，机器还是不转，只好承认无能为力。 Tā shìzhe xiū le bàn tiān, jīqì háishi bú zhuàn, zhǐhǎo chéngrèn wúnéngwéilì. He tried fixing it for hours, but the machine still would not run, so he had to admit he could do nothing.
Related words
- 无 wú no; without
- 无法 wúfǎ unable to
- 无聊 wúliáo boring; bored
- 无论 wúlùn no matter
- 无数 wúshù countless
- 无所谓 wúsuǒwèi it does not matter
- 无限 wúxiàn unlimited; endless
- 无奈 wúnài helpless; having no choice
- 无疑 wúyí without doubt
- 毫无 háowú completely without
- 大公无私 dàgōngwúsī selfless; impartial and public-spirited
- 当之无愧 dāngzhīwúkuì fully deserving; worthy of the title