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奈何 (nài hé) — to cope with, to deal with, to do something to (someone) (often in negative constructions like 无可奈何, 奈何不了); why?; for what reason?; how? (used in rhetorical questions)

Definition

奈何 (nàihé) is a literary/classical word, mostly appearing in the set phrases 无可奈何 ('nothing can be done') and 奈何…? ('what can one do about…?'). It is not used in everyday speech — modern Chinese would use 怎么办 or 没办法 instead.

verb
to cope withto deal withto do something to (someone) (often in negative constructions like 无可奈何, 奈何不了)why?for what reason?how? (used in rhetorical questions)

Examples

  • ，奈何。
    Tā zuò bì bèi zhuā, shuí yě nài hé bù liǎo tā.
    He was caught cheating, and no one can do anything to him.
  • ，奈何？
    Shì qing yǐ jīng rú cǐ, nài hé?
    Things are already like this; what can be done?
  • ，奈何。
    Zhè zhǒng jú miàn, tā nài hé bù liǎo.
    He cannot cope with this situation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

奈nàideal with
何héwhat

奈, deal with, and 何, what or how, combine to mean coping or asking what to do.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 奈 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The old form of 何 drew a person carrying something on their shoulder. If the carried thing was a 戈, the 人 and 戈 parts together showed that picture.

Open 何 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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