无能
wúnéng · HSK 7
incompetent
无能 = 无 (without) + 能 (ability) = without ability = incompetent
无 means lacking or none; 能 means ability or capability. Stack them and you get lacking-ability, the literal build of incompetent or incapable. Same 能 shows up in 能力 (ability) and 可能 (possible).
无 — top 一 + 林-like middle + fire radical 灬 below
Originally a pictograph of a person dancing while holding ornaments or tassels, meaning 'to dance' — the ancestor of 舞. It was borrowed phonetically to write the negative 'not have / without,' and the dance meaning was reassigned to 舞 with an added foot element. The simplified form 无 comes from an ancient variant.
能 — 厶 (head) + 月 (body/flesh) + 匕匕 (legs)
Originally a pictograph of a bear, showing its head, body, and powerful legs. Because bears were seen as strong and capable, the character was borrowed to mean 'ability' or 'can'. A new character 熊 (with the fire radical 灬) was later created for 'bear'.