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