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

Sometimes the noun or the verb will have an archaic feel to it, like 处 (chù) for "place," or 归 (guī) for "return to."

Examples

• 我 和 他 无 话 可 说。Wǒ hé tā wú huà kě shuō.I had nothing to say to him.
• 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 gone bankrupt, and Xiao Wang feels that he has nowhere to go.
• 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. I have no one to help me now.
• 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, so I have nothing to do every day.
• 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 lease is up, but I haven't found a new place yet, so I have nowhere to go.
• 很 多 30岁 以上 的 女演员 说 自己 无 戏 可 拍。Hěn duō sānshí suì yǐshàng de nǚ yǎnyuán shuō zìjǐ wú xì kě pāi.Many actresses over 30 say there are no films they can 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 cash it can 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.This movie was so popular that all the tickets sold out and there are no more tickets for sale.
• 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.
• 在 美国 大部分 无家可归 的 人 有 精神 问题 。 Zài Měiguó dàbùfen wújiākěguī de rén yǒu jīngshén wèntí.In the US, most homeless people have mental health issues.

Sources and further reading

Books

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

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