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If someone is discussing a situation, and how it is beyond their control, what
would be the most natural way to express this? The two options that come to
mind offhand are to use either 操る【あやつる】 ("to manipulate") or 支配【しはい】 ("to
control"), but I'm not sure which is best in which setting.

In the interest of giving the question context, here are a couple attempts at
sample sentences:

>   * チームはどれほど(orどんなに)好きでも、試合は操ることができない(or試合を操ることはできない)。  
>  "No matter how much I like the team, I can't control the outcome of their
> matches."
>
>   * 明日は晴れれば(or晴れると)いいんだが、天気は支配できない。  
>  "Clear weather tomorrow would be great, but I can't control it."
>
>

Are those about on the mark, or is there a better way to phrase these kinds of
statements?
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2014-07-08T07:55:08.563
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word-choice usage
Expressing control over circumstances—or a lack of it
One way to do it is just to say コントロールできない. 試合（の結果）はコントロールできない

Another might be to say どうすることもできない.

Glancing on alc, I found one interesting expression: あずかり知らぬところである. It's used
in this sentence:

> "have no control over how the dice of life are cast"  
>  人生のさいころの目がどう出るかは自分のあずかり知らぬところである

That said, you probably don't want to spout this one off in everyday speech.
User @naruto points out that its nuance is more about "concern" in the sense
that something doesn't concern someone (i.e. they have no meaningful part/role
in it).

I think 操る has much more of a nuance of controlling something in the sense of
_manipulation_ , like you would manipulate a tool or a person rather than how
you might manipulate an outcome.

支配 is control in a much broader sense of having authority. If you talk about
the weather using 支配 it could be strange.
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2014-07-08T08:02:25.317
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2014-07-08T09:00:03.677
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answer
I think @ssb's どうすることもできない would work. I'd like to add some more phrases:

> (～に)どうこうできることではない。  
>  (～に)どうこうできるものでもない(orではない)。  
>  (～に/～の力で)何とかできるものでもない。  
>  (～には/～の力では)どうにもできない。  
>  (～の力では)なんともならない。  
>

etc.

例文:

> どんなにチームが好きだからって、試合ばかりは私にどうこうできるものでもない。  
>  明日は晴れるといいけど、こればっかりはどうにもできないなあ。  
>

* * *

You also have a more literary phrase:

> ~~の力の[及]{およ}ぶところではない。  
>

例文:

> もはやこの問題は、私一人の力の及ぶところではない。
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2014-07-08T08:42:29.790
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2014-07-08T09:14:03.617
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answer