措手不及

cuòshǒu-bùjí

idiom HSK 7-9 #14,639

Meanings

Literally 'hands cannot manage in time' - caught completely off guard

HSK 6

突然的暴雨让人措手不及。

Tūrán de bàoyǔ ràng rén cuòshǒu-bùjí.

The sudden downpour caught everyone off guard.

HSK 6

对方的进攻打得我们措手不及。

Duìfāng de jìngōng dǎ de wǒmen cuòshǒu-bùjí.

The opponent's attack caught us completely unprepared.

usage

措手不及 is commonly used with 让/令 (to make) or 打得 (to strike). Pattern: something 让人措手不及 (catches people off guard).

memory

Imagine something happening so fast that your hands (手) can't arrange (措) a response in time (不及) - you're completely caught off guard.

措 cuò

手 shǒu

不 bù

及 jí