Shikanai

しか無い (Shikanai) is a Japanese expression meaning “having no choice but to ..., all one can do is ..., there's nothing to do except ..., having nothing but ...”.

Meanings

  1. expression, i-adjectivehaving no choice but to ...; all one can do is ...; there's nothing to do except ...after a verb
  2. expression, i-adjectivehaving nothing but ...; there is only ...; having only ...; having no more than ...after a noun or counter

Examples

  • It's now or never.

  • There is nothing to do but apologize.

  • I have little money.

Sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR).

Kanji in しか無い

nothingness

Related words

nonexistentunreasonableto be lost (e.g. luggage)isn't it?safetycertainfutilitycannot do without somethingthere's no (other) wayI'm sorryisn't it?radio (communication)