HSK 6 · Adjectives

无能为力 wúnéngwéilì “powerless” in Chinese

Traditional 無能為力

What 无能为力 means

  1. powerless
  2. unable to help
  3. (idiom) powerless to do anything about it

How to say 无能为力

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale无wú2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale能néng2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale为wéi2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale力lì4th tone, falling

无能为力 in a sentence

  1. 我对此无能为力。

    Wǒ duì cǐ wúnéngwéilì.

    There’s nothing I can do about it.

    Sentence #512076 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我们也无能为力。

    Wǒmen yě wúnéngwéilì.

    There’s nothing we can do either.

    Sentence #13890628 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我不是不同情你，但我实在是无能为力。

    Wǒ bú shì bù tóngqíng nǐ, dàn wǒ shízài shì wúnéngwéilì.

    It’s not that I don’t sympathise with you, but there’s really nothing I can do.

    Sentence #1179621 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 无能为力 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 无 (wú) with each of its parts in a different colour
无wúnot to have
  • 一one · yī
  • 尢lame · wāng
The character 能 (néng) with each of its parts in a different colour
能néngcan
  • 厶private · sī
  • ⺼meat form of 肉 · ròu
  • 匕spoon · bǐ
  • 匕spoon · bǐ

Memory aidDrawn from a bear. It was borrowed for “can, be able to”.

The character 为 (wèi) with each of its parts in a different colour
为wéias
  • 丶dot · zhǔ
  • 力strength · lì
  • 丶dot · zhǔ
The character 力 (lì) drawn as one shape
力lìpower

力 is a single shape of 2 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidThought to show an old plough, and pulling it took strength: strength, power.

How to write 无能为力

无 4 strokes · 能 10 strokes · 为 4 strokes · 力 2 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

无能为力 (wúnéngwéilì) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 无能为力 (wúnéngwéilì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 无能为力

Words with 无

无wú · not to have无聊wúliáo · bored无论wúlùn · no matter what or how无法wúfǎ · to be unable to无奈wúnài · to have no alternative无数wúshù · countless无所谓wúsuǒwèi · to not matter无赖wúlài · rogue无比wúbǐ · incomparable无耻wúchǐ · shameless

Words with 能

能néng · can可能kěnéng · maybe只能zhǐnéng · can only能力nénglì · capability能够nénggòu · to be able to能干nénggàn · capable能源néngyuán · energy功能gōngnéng · function职能zhínéng · function能量néngliàng · energy

Words with 为

因为yīnwèi · because为什么wèishénme · why为wèi · for认为rènwéi · believe为了wèile · in order to以为yǐwéi · to think (wrongly)成为chéngwéi · to become行为xíngwéi · action作为zuòwéi · as (in the role of)为期wéiqī · to last for (a period)

Words with 力

努力nǔlì · to work hard力气lìqi · strength能力nénglì · capability压力yālì · pressure巧克力qiǎokèlì · chocolate (loanword)精力jīnglì · energy尽力jìnlì · to strive one’s hardest权力quánlì · power力量lìliang · power魅力mèilì · charm

More words: Adjectives

无比wúbǐ · incomparable无耻wúchǐ · shameless无辜wúgū · innocent乌黑wūhēi · jet-black无穷无尽wúqióngwújìn · endless无微不至wúwēibúzhì · in every possible way无知wúzhī · ignorant狭隘xiá'ài · narrow-minded

FAQs

无能为力 (wúnéngwéilì) means “powerless” or “unable to help”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it wúnéngwéilì: wú with a 2nd tone, then néng with a 2nd tone, then wéi with a 2nd tone, then lì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 无能为力 is written 無能為力. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type wunengweili with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 无能为力 from the suggestions. Typing wunengweili into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
无能为力 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.