Dictionary › 无奈

无奈

wú nài

Old HSK 5 HSK 3.0 level 5 2-character word Traditional 無奈

无奈 (wú nài) means "helpless, to have no choice". It is an HSK 3.0 level 5 word, and was HSK 5 in the old six-level list.

What 无奈 means

1. to have no alternative
2. frustrated
3. exasperated
4. helpless
5. (conjunction) but unfortunately

The characters in 无奈

• 无wúnot to have; no; none
• 奈nàiused in expressions that convey frustration and futility, such as 无奈…

Example sentences

• 他对生活感到很无奈。
  Tā duìshēng huó gǎndào hěn wúnài.
  He feels powerless about his own life.
• 我无奈只得跟随着她。
  Wǒ wúnài zhǐdé gēnsuí zhe tā.
  I couldn't help but follow her.
• “天天寒暄就是我们做的所有事了。”汤姆无奈地回答。
  "Exchanging courtesies every day is all we've done," Tom answered with resignation.

Words containing 无奈

• 万般无奈wàn bān wú nàito have no way out; to have no alternative

Where 无奈 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Escape, Retirement & Evasion (HSK 5), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 5 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read wú nài correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.