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How to say 'Helpless' in Japanese | 仕方無い

Wondering how to say 'Helpless' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Helpless is 'Shikatanai', written as 仕方無い in Japanese.'Helpless' in hiragana is しかたない.

    word

    仕方無い

    Meaning

    Helpless

    Reading

    しかたない

    shikatanai

    Kanji

    仕Serve 方Direction 無Nothing

    Explanation

    The Japanese adjective '仕方無い (しかたない)' means 'helpless' or 'it can't be helped'. It is used to express resignation or acceptance of a situation that cannot be changed or controlled. This word often conveys a sense of inevitability or lack of alternatives. For example: It can't be helped, we have to wait「仕方ない、待つしかない」(しかたない、まつしかない). There's nothing we can do about it「仕方ないことだ」(しかたないことだ). It is commonly used in casual conversations to express frustration or acceptance of an unavoidable outcome.

    Part Of Speech

    adjective

    Kanji JLPT

    Unknown

    Kanji Grade

    4

    Frequency

    2880

    Composition

    kanji-hiragana

    Handwriting

This word is an i-adjective. To learn how it transforms in different tenses and forms, explore all its conjugations.

Kanji in the Word 仕方無い

This word contains 3 kanji characters:

  • kanji

    仕

    Meaning

    Serve

  • kanji

    方

    Meaning

    Direction

  • kanji

    無

    Meaning

    Nothing

Hiragana in the Word 仕方無い

This word contains 1 Hiragana character :

  • hiragana

    い

    Reading

    I

Words Related to 仕方無い Through the Kanji 仕

These 13 Words contain the Kanji 仕 as well.

  • word

    仕舞う

    Meaning

    Put away

  • word

    仕事

    Meaning

    Work

  • word

    仕方

    Meaning

    Way

  • word

    仕様

    Meaning

    Specification

  • word

    仕上げ

    Meaning

    Finishing

  • word

    仕上げる

    Meaning

    Finish

  • word

    仕組み

    Meaning

    Structure, Mechanism

  • word

    お仕舞い

    Meaning

    End

  • word

    仕える

    Meaning

    Serve

  • word

    仕舞い

    Meaning

    End

  • word

    仕手

    Meaning

    Actor

  • word

    仕草

    Meaning

    Gesture

  • word

    仕掛ける

    Meaning

    Set, Initiate

Words Related to 仕方無い Through the Kanji 方

These 36 Words contain the Kanji 方 as well.

  • word

    方

    Meaning

    Direction, Side

  • word

    貴方

    Meaning

    You

  • word

    方法

    Meaning

    Method

  • word

    何方

    Meaning

    Where, Which

  • word

    一方

    Meaning

    Side, On the other hand

  • word

    地方

    Meaning

    Region

  • word

    言い方

    Meaning

    Way of speaking

  • word

    読み方

    Meaning

    Reading

  • word

    書き方

    Meaning

    Way of writing

  • word

    方向

    Meaning

    Direction

  • word

    仕方

    Meaning

    Way

  • word

    方式

    Meaning

    Method

  • word

    方針

    Meaning

    Policy

  • word

    明け方

    Meaning

    Dawn

  • word

    両方

    Meaning

    Both

  • word

    生き方

    Meaning

    Lifestyle

  • word

    夕方

    Meaning

    Evening

  • word

    彼方

    Meaning

    Yonder

  • word

    方面

    Meaning

    Direction, Field

  • word

    方々

    Meaning

    People

  • word

    正方形

    Meaning

    Square

  • word

    他方

    Meaning

    Other, Another

  • word

    味方

    Meaning

    Ally

  • word

    前方

    Meaning

    Front

  • word

    双方

    Meaning

    Both

  • word

    行方

    Meaning

    Whereabouts

  • word

    方言

    Meaning

    Dialect

  • word

    やり方

    Meaning

    Method

  • word

    目方

    Meaning

    Weight

  • word

    長方形

    Meaning

    Rectangle

  • word

    方角

    Meaning

    Direction

  • word

    処方

    Meaning

    Prescription

  • word

    平方

    Meaning

    Square

  • word

    片方

    Meaning

    One, Side

  • word

    四方

    Meaning

    Directions

  • word

    後方

    Meaning

    Rear, Back

Words Related to 仕方無い Through the Kanji 無

These 36 Words contain the Kanji 無 as well.

  • word

    無い

    Meaning

    Non existent

  • word

    無

    Meaning

    Without

  • word

    無理

    Meaning

    Impossible

  • word

    無くなる

    Meaning

    Disappear, Runout

  • word

    無し

    Meaning

    Without

  • word

    無料

    Meaning

    Free

  • word

    無論

    Meaning

    Of course, Naturally

  • word

    無くす

    Meaning

    Lose

  • word

    有無

    Meaning

    Existence, Non existence

  • word

    御無沙汰

    Meaning

    Neglect

  • word

    無事

    Meaning

    Safely

  • word

    無口

    Meaning

    Quiet

  • word

    間も無く

    Meaning

    Soon

  • word

    無茶

    Meaning

    Reckless

  • word

    無用

    Meaning

    Useless, Unnecessary

  • word

    無知

    Meaning

    Ignorance

  • word

    無能

    Meaning

    Incompetent

  • word

    無言

    Meaning

    Silence

  • word

    無生物

    Meaning

    Inanimate

  • word

    無限

    Meaning

    Infinite

  • word

    無制限

    Meaning

    Unlimited

  • word

    無数

    Meaning

    Countless

  • word

    無色

    Meaning

    Colorless

  • word

    無効

    Meaning

    Invalid

  • word

    無意味

    Meaning

    Meaningless

  • word

    無意識

    Meaning

    Unconsciously

  • word

    無関心

    Meaning

    Indifferent

  • word

    無関係

    Meaning

    Unrelated

  • word

    無責任

    Meaning

    Irresponsible

  • word

    無害

    Meaning

    Harmless

  • word

    無理矢理

    Meaning

    Forcibly

  • word

    無線

    Meaning

    Wireless

  • word

    無視

    Meaning

    Ignore

  • word

    無駄

    Meaning

    Waste

  • word

    無駄遣い

    Meaning

    Waste

  • word

    無邪気

    Meaning

    Innocent

Learn the Word 仕方無い

Let's make sure you fully understand this word.

What does 'Shikatanai' (仕方無い) mean?

'Shikatanai' means 'Helpless' .

To help you master this word, here's an interactive lesson where you'll practice its readings and meanings.