Inability with "mei banfa"

If you are trying to express that something is impossible, you can use the phrase 没办法 (méi bànfǎ). 没办法 (méi bànfǎ) essentially means, "there is no way" and can be used in various situations.

Structure

One easy way to express inability is to use the phrase 没办法 (méi bànfǎ). Literally this translates as "to have no way" and is commonly used in situations where something is not possible. The structure:

Subject + 没办法 + Verb + Object

Examples

• 我 没 办法 帮 你 。 Wǒ méi bànfǎ bāng nǐ. I have no way to help you.
• 他 没 办法 去 中国 。 Tā méi bànfǎ qù Zhōngguó. He has no way to go to China.
• 我们 没 办法 出去 。 Wǒmen méi bànfǎ chūqù. We have no way of going out. (maybe we are busy, etc.)
• 没有 糖 ， 我 没 办法 做 蛋糕 。 Méiyǒu táng, wǒ méi bànfǎ zuò dàngāo. I don't have sugar, there's no way to make a cake.
• 我 没 办法 让 所有 人 都 喜欢 我 。 Wǒ méi bànfǎ ràng suǒyǒu rén dōu xǐhuan wǒ. There is no way I can make everyone like me.
• 我 不 会 说 中文 ， 我 没 办法 跟 中国 人 说话 。 Wǒ bù huì shuō Zhōngwén, wǒ méi bànfǎ gēn Zhōngguó rén shuōhuà. I can't speak Chinese, I have no means of talking with Chinese people.
• 事情 太 多 了 ， 我 没 办法 在 这 个 星期 做完 。 Shìqíng tài duō le, wǒ méi bànfǎ zài zhè ge xīngqī zuòwán. There's too much to do, I have no means for finishing this week.
• 我 没 带 钱 包 ， 所以 我 没 办法 买 东西 。 Wǒ méi dài qián bāo, suǒyǐ wǒ méi bànfǎ mǎi dōngxī. I didn't bring my wallet, so I have no means of buying things.
• 我 没 有 手机 ， 所以 我 没 办法 打电话 给 你 。 Wǒ méi yǒu shǒujī, suǒyǐ wǒ méi bànfǎ dǎdiànhuà gěi nǐ. I don't have a phone, so I have no way of giving you a call.
• 他 很 笨 ， 我 没 办法 跟 他 一起 工作 。 Tā hěn bèn, wǒ méi bànfǎ gēn tā yīqǐ gōngzuò. He's really dumb, there is no way I can work with him.

See also

• Negation of "you"
• Expressing ability or possibility

Sources and further reading

• Exemplification of Common Sentence Patterns in Spoken Chinese 汉语口语常用句式例解 (p. 159) →buy