措手不及

Chinese HSK 7-9 Vocabulary Chinese ★★★ 3/5 neutral cuò shǒu bù jí

ピンイン cuò shǒu bù jí

漢字の分解 措 = 扌+ 昔 (to arrange); 手 = hand; 不 = not; 及 = reach in time

意味

不意を突かれる、手が回らない

Literally 'hands cannot reach in time.' Used when something happens so suddenly that one cannot prepare or respond properly. Common in news, narratives, and everyday descriptions of unexpected situations.

例文

突如其来的暴雨让游客们措手不及，纷纷躲进商店避雨。
公司的突然倒闭让员工们措手不及，很多人一时找不到新工作。
对手出其不意的战术让我方球队措手不及，上半场就落后三分。

使い方ガイド

場面: surprises, news, narratives

トーン: descriptive

正しい言い方

这个消息让我措手不及。(This news caught me completely off guard.)
敌人的进攻让守军措手不及。(The enemy's attack caught the defenders unprepared.)

避ける言い方

我有充分准备地措手不及 (Contradictory — 措手不及 means unprepared, opposite of having full preparation)

起源と歴史

Classical idiom where 措手 means 'to arrange hands/prepare' and 不及 means 'cannot reach in time.' The whole phrase depicts being unable to prepare for something.

文化的背景

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal