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一筹莫展 (yī chóu mò zhǎn) — to be at one's wit's end; to be unable to find a solution

Definition

A chengyu for being stuck with no plan or solution — frames it as a thinking/strategy problem. 束手无策 is similar but emphasizes being unable to act; 没辙 is the colloquial spoken form.

phrase
to be at one's wit's endto be unable to find a solution

Examples

  • ，一筹莫展，。
    Miàn duì zhè ge nán tí, tā yī chóu mò zhǎn, bù zhī dào gāi zěn me bàn.
    Faced with this difficult problem, he was at his wit's end and didn't know what to do.
  • ，一筹莫展。
    Gōng sī zī jīn liàn duàn liè, lǎo bǎn jí dé yī chóu mò zhǎn.
    The company's capital chain broke, and the boss was so anxious he was at his wit's end.
  • ，一筹莫展。
    Tā shì le gè zhǒng fāng fǎ dōu bù xíng, zhēn shì yī chóu mò zhǎn.
    He tried all kinds of methods but none worked — he was truly at his wit's end.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

一筹one plan
一yīone筹chóuplan
偏正Modifier + head
莫展cannot unfold
莫mòcannot展zhǎnunfold
偏正Modifier + head

'一' and '筹' give one plan; '莫' and '展' give cannot unfold, so no solution can be brought forward.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 籌; 筹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
壽
壽shòu籌chóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 籌 has 竹 (bamboo) on top and 壽 below as the sound part; the simplified 筹 is a later shorthand.

Open 筹 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 莫 shows a sun sinking into bushes, meaning dusk.

Open 莫 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
尸尸shī
Sound part声符shēngfú
𧝑
𧝑𧝑展zhǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

展 is built from 尸 and 𧝑. The 𧝑 part points to fine red silk clothes and also contains the idea of opening or extending.

Open 展 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set Phrases

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