奈
used in expressions that convey frustration and futility, such as 無奈|无奈[wu2 nai4] and 莫可奈何|莫可奈何[mo4 ke3 nai4 he2] (literary); used for its phonetic value in writing foreign words
8 strokes
Dict coverage rank #1,890 U+5948
How 奈 is formed
Ideographic compound (会意字)
A man 大 with spirit 示
How to remember it
can’t help but · Heisig RSH #2158
St. Bernard dog + altar
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Characters built with 奈 as their sound component
These characters all use 奈 (nài) as their phonetic component — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 奈 sound component | nài | but, how; to bear, to stand, to endure |
| 萘 | nài | naphthalene |
| 捺 | nà | to press down firmly with the fingers |
Words containing 奈
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 西奈半岛 | Xī nài Bàn dǎo | Sinai Peninsula |
| 西奈山 | Xī nài Shān | Mount Sinai |
| 无可奈何 | wú kě nài hé | have no way out; have no alternative; abbr. to 無奈|无奈[wu2 nai4] |
| 奈良时代 | Nài liáng Shí dài | Nara period (710-794) in early Japanese history |
| 奈及利亚 | Nài jí lì yà | (Tw) Nigeria |
| 香奈儿 | Xiāng nài ér | Chanel (brand name) |
| 神奈川 | Shén nài chuān | Kanagawa (prefecture in Japan) |
| 康奈尔 | Kāng nài ěr | Cornell (University) |
| 莫可奈何 | mò kě nài hé | see 無可奈何|无可奈何[wu2 ke3 nai4 he2] |
| 奈洛比 | Nài luò bǐ | Nairobi, capital of Kenya (Tw) |
| 山奈 | shān nài | (loanword) cyanide; variant of 山柰[shan1 nai4] |
| 无奈 | wú nài | to have no alternative; frustrated; exasperated; helpless; (conjunction) but unfortunately |
| 西奈 | Xī nài | Sinai Peninsula |
| 万般无奈 | wàn bān wú nài | to have no way out; to have no alternative |
| 林奈 | lín nài | Carl Linnaeus; Carl Linné |
| 科奈 | Kē nài | Kenai (Peninsula, Lake, Mountains), Alaska |
| 基奈 | Jī nài | Kenai (Peninsula, Lake, Mountains), Alaska (Tw) |
| 没奈何 | mò nài hé | to have no alternative; to be helpless |