仕方しがたがない is one of those words that you will hear all the time. 仕方がない refers to any sort of inevitable situations. You can translate it several ways. For example, nothing can be done, there is no other choice, or even oh well.

The Inevitable

You say 仕方しかたがない whenever you encounter something that is or you feel is unavoidable. You get a parking ticket, you are late for an appointment, or whatever. Basically when the damage has been done and is irreversible so there is no point in fussing over it.

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Oh well

Every situation does not need to be hopeless. You can say 仕方しかたがない to show you give up or to just say Oh well. Let’s say on the way home from the supermarket you realize you forgot to buy eggs. You may have time to go back and buy them but you decide it is too much of a pain. So instead you just keep heading home and say 仕方がない. 

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It’s Pointless

You could say 仕方がない for any situation that seems pointless. Pretend you are explaining something to someone that won’t listen to you. 

説明せつめいしても仕方がない
Explaining is pointless

Hopeless people

You can use the phrase to explain people. If you know someone who is always making mistakes or is just really stubborn. This would be a perfect time for 仕方がない. 

この人ひとは仕方がない
This person is hopeless

Now you know the meaning of Shikata ga nai. If you are interested I have more hard to translate words in Japanese.

Resources

Shikata ga nai – Wikipedia