after a verb in the dictionary form says there is no means of doing it: "there is no way to", "be powerless to". 術 here is read すべ, "means", and the sentence is one of helplessness. With
in place of が, it is stronger: not even a way.
。
There was no way to escape.
。
There is nothing I can do to ease her grief.
、。
The fire was so fierce there was no way to put it out.
為す術がない
, with the old verb
"to do", is the fixed phrase for "there is nothing to be done". It often turns into 為す術もなく before a verb: "helplessly".
、。
Faced with the sudden disaster, the residents just stood there helplessly.
。
There is nothing more that can be done.
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術がない belongs to writing: novels, news reports, essays. In conversation, the same idea is きごう〜 after the ます-stem, or .
、。
I don't have their details, so there's no way to contact them.
。
There's nothing to be done now.
- × (to a friend) 連絡する術がないよ → 連絡しようがないよ
Lingaku