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措手不及

cuòshǒubùjí
idiom HSK 7 #14,639

Meanings

  1. 1 caught off guard
  2. 2 unprepared
  3. 3 taken by surprise

Characters

措
cuò
to manage; to handle
手
shǒu
hand
不
bù
not
及
jí
in time; to reach
Literally 'hands cannot manage in time' — caught completely off guard

Examples

突然的暴雨让人措手不及。
Tūrán de bàoyǔ ràng rén cuòshǒubùjí.
The sudden downpour caught everyone off guard.
对方的进攻打得我们措手不及。
Duìfāng de jìngōng dǎ de wǒmen cuòshǒubùjí.
The opponent's attack caught us completely unprepared.

Tips

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.

Stroke Order

措 cuò
手 shǒu
不 bù
及 jí