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没法 (méi fǎ) — to have no way; to be unable to; there's nothing to be done about it

Definition

没法 (méi fǎ) means 'there's no way / unable to' — focuses on the impossibility of an action. Like the modal 不能, it negates ability or feasibility, but emphasizes no method exists rather than no permission.

verb
to have no wayto be unable tothere's nothing to be done about it

Examples

  • 没法。
    Wǒ shí zài méi fǎ jiē shòu zhè ge jié guǒ.
    I really can't accept this result.
  • ，。
    Duì zhè ge wèn tí, wǒ yì diǎn bàn fǎ dōu méi yǒu.
    I have no way at all to deal with this problem.
  • ，没法。
    Shí jiān tài duǎn le, wǒ men méi fǎ àn shí wán chéng.
    The time is too short; we can't finish on time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

没méinot have
法fǎway

"没" means not having, and "法" means a way, so the sense is having no way to act.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 沒; 没 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠬛
𠬛𠬛沒mò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 沒 pairs 水 (water) with 𠬛 as a sound part; this note is about 沒, not the simplified 没.

Open 没 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →
Appears in
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