无能为力 (wú néng wéi lì)

Character breakdown

• 无 (mó) · 4 strokes

  Pictograph of a person dancing, with ox tails or bird feathers hanging from his arms, to pray for rain. Original form of 舞 (dance). The current form is a phonetic loan. The simplified character 无 was…

• 能 (Néng) · 10 strokes

  Pictograph of a bear. Based on the original meaning "bear". The meaning of this character has shifted over time to mean "strong" and "ability, power". Original form of 熊.

• 为 (wéi) · 4 strokes

  Simplified form of 為. Pictograph of a hand (又) guiding an elephant (象) to do work (in ancient China elephants were tamed to do work). Based on the meaning "to work; to do".

• 力 (Lì) · 2 strokes

  Pictograph of a plow, which requires strength to operate.

Usage

这件事已经超出我的能力范围，我真的无能为力了。

This matter is already beyond my ability range; I really can't do anything about it.

Zhè jiàn shì yǐ jīng chāo chū wǒ de néng lì fàn wéi, wǒ zhēn de wú néng wéi lì le.