Chinese word

无助

Pronunciation

Pinyinwú zhù

Meaning

  • adjectivehelpless

Example

他遇到困难时，觉得无助。tā yù dào kùn nán shí jué de wú zhù

He feels helpless when he faces difficulties.

Illustration for 无助 (helpless)

More examples

老人走失后，在车站显得很无助，有人上前帮他。lǎo rén zǒu shī hòu zài chē zhàn xiǎn de hěn wú zhù yǒu rén shàng qián bāng tā

After the old man got lost, he looked very helpless at the station, and someone came forward to help him.

Core concept

Standing alone before a problem, without the support or means needed to deal with it.

Common phrases

  • 感到无助gǎn dào wú zhù

    feel helpless

  • 显得无助xiǎn de wú zhù

    appear helpless

  • 看起来无助kàn qǐ lái wú zhù

    look helpless

Similar words

无援wú yuán: Being without anyone to turn to for help in a difficult situation.
无能为力wú néng wéi lì: Being unable to take action because there is no ability or workable method available.
无奈wú nài: Accepting a difficult situation with reluctant resignation because nothing can be done.

Definition in Chinese

没有外界的援助、支持或可用的办法，在遇到困难时显得无奈或无力。méi yǒu wài jiè de yuán zhù zhī chí huò kě yòng de bàn fǎ zài yù dào kùn nán shí xiǎn de wú nài huò wú lì

Word origin

无 (wú, "without") + 助 (zhù, "help") literally gives the idea of having no help, which extends to feeling unable to cope when difficulties leave no workable option.

Usage tips

  • The word usually signals more than simple difficulty: it highlights isolation or a lack of resources, so it is stronger than saying that a task is merely hard.

Other meanings

  • without anyone to turn toadjective
  • powerlessadjective

Opposites

Related words

  • 无助感wú zhù gǎnhelplessnessnoun

Word lists with this word