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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

無計可施

/u³⁵ t͡ɕi⁵¹ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂɻ̩⁵⁵/
at a loss as to what to do; at one's wits' end; at the end of one's tether
  • 无计可施
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The phrase describes a state of having no plan or means to act, symbolized by an empty abacus and a motionless flag.
The phrase describes a state of having no plan or means to act, symbolized by an empty abacus and a motionless flag.

Origin

The phrase 無計可施 is formed by combining four characters. The first, 無, means to not have, there is not, or there does not exist. The second, 計, means to calculate or to count; it is composed of the components 言 (to say, speak, or talk) and 十 (ten). The third, 可, means can, may, or be able to. It consists of the semantic component 口 (mouth) and the phonetic component 丂 (the appearance of air which is to be released). The component 丂 is itself composed of 𠃑 and 一 (one).

The final character, 施, means flag fluttering or flag waving. It is formed with the semantic component 㫃 (the appearance of flags flying) and the phonetic component 也 (a particle used at the end of copular constructions involving a nominal). Together, the characters express the idea of being unable to think of a countermeasure.

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

無計可施是由四個漢字組成。其中，「無」表示沒有、不存在；「計」有計算或計數的意思，其字形包含「言」（說、談）與「十」（十）兩個部分；「可」表示可以、能夠，由表示口部的「口」作為語義成分，並以「丂」（空氣釋放的樣子）作為音符，而「丂」字本身包含「𠃑」與「一」；「施」則有旗幟飄揚的意思，由表示旗幟飄揚樣貌的「㫃」作為語義成分，並以「也」作為音符。

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • characterChinese無 “to not have; there is not; there does not exist”
  • characterChinese計 “to calculate; to count”
    • ideaChinese言 “to say; to speak; to talk”
    • ideaChinese十 “ten”
  • characterChinese可 “can; may; be able to”
    • meaningChinese口 “mouth, especially the lips and internal mouth cavity (Classifier: 把 c)”
    • soundChinese丂 “the appearance of air which is to be released”
      • componentChinese𠃑
      • componentChinese一 “one”
  • characterChinese施 “flag fluttering; flag waving”
    • meaningChinese㫃 “appearance of flags flying”
    • soundChinese也 “Particle used at the end of copular constructions involving a nominal predicate; to be (although no…”
Wiktionary etymology text

No etymology text yet. The graph shows what is known from the sources.

Meanings

phrase
  1. at a loss as to what to do; at one's wits' end; at the end of one's tether

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 想不出對策。 例：面對如此難題，我真是無計可施。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0