Have no way to / no means to (无从/无以)

Structure 无从 + verb (there is no way to…) ／无以 + verb (have nothing to … with)

Two related literary set-phrases. 无从 (wú cóng) means "there is no way in": faced with something too tangled, you do not know where to begin — 千头万绪，无从下手 = "with so many loose ends, there is no way to start". 无以 (wú yǐ) means "to have nothing to do it with" and stresses the lack of means or resource — 无以言表 = "there are no words to express it". Both belong to refined prose; 无从 looks at the WAY or method, 无以 looks at the MEANS or instrument.

Examples

事shì情qíng千qiān头tóu万wàn绪xù，让ràng人rén无wú从cóng下xià手shǒu。
The matter has a thousand loose ends; there is no way to even begin.
档dàng案àn早zǎo已yǐ遗yí失shī，真zhēn相xiàng已yǐ无wú从cóng查chá证zhèng。
The records were lost long ago; the truth can no longer be verified.
内nèi心xīn的de感gǎn激jī之zhī情qíng，实shí在zài无wú以yǐ言yán表biǎo。
The gratitude I feel within truly has no words to express it.
若ruò不bù努nǔ力lì工gōng作zuò，将jiāng无wú以yǐ报bào答dá父fù母mǔ的de养yǎng育yù之zhī恩ēn。
If he does not work hard, he will have no means to repay his parents' care.

Levels are indicative: they follow the standard Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning) progression, not an official HSK 3.0 mapping. We never assign levels by eye.

This point and the other 370, with audio on every example, inside Wanyu.