奈 (nài): used in expressions that convey frustration and futility, such as 無奈|无奈 and 莫可奈何|莫可奈何 (literary), used for its phonetic value in writing foreign words
奈 (nài) is a Chinese character meaning “used in expressions that convey frustration and futility, such as 無奈|无奈 and 莫可奈何|莫可奈何 (literary).” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 大 (structural) and 示 (structural). It ranks #1613 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 奈 a man 大 with spirit 示. Its radical form 大 (big) appears in many related characters such as 大 (dà, big), 天 (tiān, day), 太 (tài, highest).
Definitions
- used in expressions that convey frustration and futility, such as 無奈|无奈 and 莫可奈何|莫可奈何 (literary)
- used for its phonetic value in writing foreign words
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA man 大 with spirit 示
Decomposition: ⿱大示 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 奈 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 奈
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 康奈尔 | kāng nài ěr | Cornell (University) |
| 奈何 | nài hé | to do something to sb |
| 无可奈何 | wú kě nài hé | have no way out |
| 西奈 | xī nài | Sinai Peninsula |
| 奈良 | nài liáng | Nara, an old capital of Japan |
| 莫奈 | mò nài | Claude Monet (1840-1926), French impressionist painter |
| 林奈 | lín nài | Carl Linnaeus |
| 奈洛比 | nài luò bǐ | Nairobi, capital of Kenya (Tw) |
| 万般无奈 | wàn bān wú nài | to have no way out |
| 钦奈 | qīn nài | Chennai, capital of southeast Indian state Tamil Nadu 泰米爾納德邦|泰米尔纳德邦[Tai4 mi3 er3 Na4 de2 bang1] |
| 格林奈尔大学 | gé lín nài ěr dà xué | Grinnell College (private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, USA) |
| 康奈尔大学 | kāng nài ěr dà xué | Cornell University |
| 没奈何 | mò nài hé | to have no alternative |
| 奈及利亚 | nài jí lì yà | Nigeria (Tw) |
| 奈良时代 | nài liáng shí dài | Nara period (710-794) in early Japanese history |
奈 appears in 35 compound words: 34 as the first character, 29 as the last, and 37 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 奈 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
Showing 6 of 7 idioms containing 奈.
Example Sentences
我在字典里查到了奈字的详细解释。
wǒ zài zì diǎn lǐ chá dào le nài zì de xiáng xì xiè shì .
I looked up the detailed explanation of the character "奈" in the dictionary.
台日混血各务礼美奈“心在台湾” WBC对决日本表态了
tái rì hùn xiě gè wù lǐ měi nài xīn zài tái wān W B C duì jué rì běn biǎo tài le
Taiwanese-Japanese mixed-race Ga Wu Mina "heart in Taiwan" WBC showdown Japan has expressed its position
高市早苗能让日再进化?曾在奈良公园“对鹿演讲”练功...她如何点年轻...
gāo shì zǎo miáo néng ràng rì zài jìn huà ? céng zài nài liáng gōng yuán duì lù yǎn jiǎng liàn gōng . . . tā rú hé diǎn nián qīng . . .
Can Sanae Takaichi make Japan evolve again? He practiced "giving a speech to deer" in Nara Park... How did she order young...
导演惊喊“像挖到黄金”!《哈姆奈特》强势问鼎奥斯卡8项大奖
dǎo yǎn jīng hǎn xiàng wā dào huáng jīn ! hā mǔ nài tè qiáng shì wèn dǐng ào sī kǎ 8 xiàng dà jiǎng
The director exclaimed, "It's like digging gold"! "Hamnet" won 8 Oscars
限时买一送一!Apolnus 新一级能效奈米空气清净机推荐,小坪数也能有干净好空气...
xiàn shí mǎi yī sòng yī ! A p o l n u s xīn yī jí néng xiào nài mǐ kōng qì qīng jìng jī tuī jiàn , xiǎo píng shǔ yě néng yǒu gān jìng hǎo kōng qì . . .
Buy one get one free for a limited time! Apolnus new level of energy efficiency nano air purifier is recommended, and even small square meters can have clean and good air...
...晓明被爆澳门狂赌7天惨输47亿!本人超无奈回应:一听就是假的
. . . xiǎo míng bèi bào ào mén kuáng dǔ 7 tiān cǎn shū 4 7 yì ! běn rén chāo wú nài huí yīng : yī tīng jiù shì jiǎ de
... Xiaoming was exposed to Macau's crazy gambling in 7 days and lost 4.7 billion! I responded helplessly: It sounds fake
我就是不道歉，你奈我何？
Wǒ jiùshì bù dàoqiàn, nǐ nài wǒ hé?
I'm not going to apologize. What are you going to do about it?
对。您是奈奈子先生？
Duì. nín shì nài nài zǐ xiānsheng?
Yes, I am. Are you Mr Nakano?
奈良是个非常古老的城市。
Nàiliáng shì ge fēicháng gǔlǎo de chéngshì.
Nara is a very old city.
我有一个朋友住在奈良。
Wǒ yǒu yī gè péngyou zhù zài Nàiliáng.
I have a friend living in Nara.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 奈 (nài) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 奈?
What are the components of 奈?
What are common words containing 奈?
What characters sound the same as 奈 (nài)?
Is 奈 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 奈 with real-time feedback
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