失控

• Pinyin: shī kòng
• Hanzi breakdown: 失 = 手 + 乙 (to lose, to let slip); 控 = 扌+ 空 (to control, to manage)

Meaning

To lose control; to go out of control — a situation, person, or process that can no longer be managed or directed.

Used broadly for physical, emotional, social, and technical loss of control. Can describe vehicles, emotions, situations, crowds, or systems. Common collocations: 局势失控 (situation spirals out of control), 情绪失控 (lose emotional control), 飞机失控 (aircraft loses control), 完全失控 (completely out of control). Stronger than 失调 and implies total loss of the ability to regulate.

Examples

1. 由于缺乏有效的早期预警机制，这场山火迅速蔓延，最终完全失控，烧毁了大片林地和数个村庄。 Because there was no effective early warning system, the wildfire spread rapidly and ultimately spiraled completely out of control, burning vast forestland and several villages.
2. 审讯过程中，嫌疑人突然情绪失控，大声叫嚣，警方不得不立即介入控制现场局面。 During the interrogation, the suspect suddenly lost control emotionally, shouting and causing a scene, and the police had to step in immediately to regain control of the situation.
3. 监管部门警告，若不及时出台相应政策，部分领域的人工智能应用可能在短期内陷入失控状态，带来难以预估的社会风险。 Regulators warn that if appropriate policies aren’t introduced in time, AI applications in some fields could quickly get out of control in the short term, bringing hard-to-predict social risks.

Usage Guide

Context: emergency, management, technology, emotion, public safety

Tone: urgent

Do Say

• 气候变化若持续加速，多个关键地球系统可能在本世纪内相继触达临界点，进而引发一系列难以逆转的失控连锁反应。(If climate change continues to accelerate, several critical Earth systems may successively reach tipping points within this century, triggering a series of irreversible out-of-control chain reactions.)
• 危机公关处理不当时，舆论往往会迅速失控，企业或机构须在第一时间作出透明、诚恳的回应，才能有效遏制负面信息的扩散。(When crisis public relations are handled improperly, public opinion tends to spiral out of control rapidly; enterprises or institutions must respond transparently and sincerely at the first opportunity to effectively curb the spread of negative information.)

Don't Say

• 失控 for mild mismanagement or minor inefficiency — 失控 implies a complete breakdown of control; use 失调 or 管理不善 for situations of poor management that have not fully spiralled out of hand

Origin & History

失 (to lose) + 控 (to control, to manage)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal