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手足无措

手足無措
shǒuzúwúcuò
idiom #16,979

Meanings

  1. 1 at a loss as to what to do; bewildered; flustered

Characters

手
shǒu
hand
足
zú
foot
无
wú
without; no
措
cuò
to place; to arrange
Literally 'hands and feet have nowhere to be placed' — so flustered you don't know what to do with your limbs.

Examples

突然停电了，大家手足无措。
Tūrán tíngdiàn le, dàjiā shǒuzúwúcuò.
The power suddenly went out, and everyone was at a loss.
面对这种情况，她手足无措。
Miànduì zhè zhǒng qíngkuàng, tā shǒuzúwúcuò.
Facing this situation, she was completely bewildered.
他第一次上台演讲，紧张得手足无措。
Tā dì yī cì shàngtái yǎnjiǎng, jǐnzhāng de shǒuzúwúcuò.
It was his first time giving a speech on stage, and he was so nervous he didn't know what to do with himself.

Tips

usage
Often used with 得 as a complement: 紧张得手足无措 (so nervous that one doesn't know what to do). Similar to 不知所措 (bùzhīsuǒcuò).

Stroke Order

手 shǒu
足 zú
无 wú
措 cuò