措手不及

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

拼音 cuò shǒu bù jí

汉字拆解 措 = 扌+ 昔 (to arrange); 手 = hand; 不 = not; 及 = reach in time

含义

Caught off guard; unprepared; taken by surprise. An idiom describing being surprised by something with no time to react.

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.

例句

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。

用法指南

语境: surprises, news, narratives

语气: descriptive

正确说法

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.)

错误说法

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

起源与历史

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.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal