Expressing "no" (noun) "to" (verb) with "wu... ke..."

This pattern is formal and has sort of a classical feel to it. It's a more condensed form of "没有 [Noun] 可以 [Verb]." 无 (wú) means "to not have" (same as 没有), and 可 can stand in for 可以. This pattern is useful when you want to express that a person is unable to perform the verb because the noun/object is not present.

Structure

无 + Noun + 可 + Verb

Examples

• 我 和 他 无 话 可 说。Wǒ hé tā wú huà kě shuō.I had nothing to say to him.
• 从 四月份 开始，公司 客户 减少，我 每天 都 无 事 可 做。Cóng sì yuèfèn kāishǐ, gōngsī kèhù jiǎnshǎo, wǒ měitiān dōu wú shì kě zuò.Since April, the company has fewer clients, and I have nothing to do every day.
• 公司 需要 招聘 新人 了，我 现在 无 人 可 用。Gōngsī xūyào zhāopìn xīnrén le, wǒ xiànzài wú rén kě yòng.The company needs to recruit new people, and I have no one available now.
• 我的 房子 到期 了，但是 我 还 没有 找到 新 房子，我 现在 无 处 可 去。Wǒde fángzi dàoqī le, dànshì wǒ hái méiyǒu zhǎodào xīn fángzi, wǒ xiànzài wú chǔ kě qù.My house is due, but I haven't found a new one yet, so I have nowhere to go.
• 公司 倒闭 了，小王 觉得 自己 现在 无 路 可 走。Gōngsī dǎobì le, Xiǎo wáng juéde zìjǐ xiànzài wú lù kě zǒu.The company has closed down, and Wang feels that he has nowhere to go.
• 很多 30岁 以上 的 女演员 说 自己 无 戏 可 拍。Hěnduō 30 suì yǐshàng de nǚ yǎnyuán shuō zìjǐ wú xì kě pāi.Many actresses over 30 say they have no more films to do.
• 公司 的 现金流 断了 ，所以 公司 无 钱 可 用。 Gōngsī de xiànjīn liú duàn le, suǒyǐ gōngsī wú qián kě yòng.The company's cash flow has been cut off, so the company has no money to spend.
• 这 部 电影 太 火 了 ，所有的 票 都 卖 完 了， 无 票 可 买。Zhè bù diànyǐng tài huǒ le, suǒyǒu de piào dōu mài wán le, wú piào kě mǎi.The movie was so popular that all the tickets were sold out and no tickets were available.
• 飞机 票 只 剩下 一 张 了， 无 座 可 选。Fēijī piào zhī shèngxià yī zhāng le, wú zuò kě xuǎn.There was only one plane ticket left, so there were no seats to choose from.
• 我 在 上海 没有 朋友，所以 这些 烦恼 无 人 可 说。Wǒ zài Shànghǎi méiyǒu péngyou, suǒyǐ zhèxiē fánnǎo wú rén kě shuō.I have no friends in Shanghai, so I have no one to talk to about these worries.

Sources and further reading

Books

• Anything Goes (无所不谈) (pp. 107) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

HSK5