措手不及

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

병음 cuò shǒu bù jí

한자 분석 措 = 扌+ 昔 (to arrange); 手 = hand; 不 = not; 及 = reach in time

뜻

미처 대비하지 못하다; 속수무책으로 당하다

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.

예문

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。

사용 가이드

맥락: surprises, news, narratives

어조: descriptive

올바른 표현

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.)

피해야 할 표현

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

기원과 역사

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.

문화적 배경

세대: All ages

사회적 배경: Universal