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.
Appears in
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