仕方がない
しかたがない · shikataganai · JLPT N2 · expression
it can't be helped
仕方 (way) + がない (none) = no way to do it, so it can't be helped
仕方 (shikata) means a way or method of doing something. ない means there is not. Together they say there is no way to do it, so nothing can be done.
方 — pictograph of a plow or two boats joined side by side
方 originated as a pictograph, traditionally interpreted as a plow handle or two boats lashed together. From the idea of paired boats it extended to mean 'side by side,' then 'square,' 'direction,' and 'region.' It was later borrowed for the abstract sense of 'method' or 'way.'