不知所措 (bù zhī-suǒ cuò) — not knowing what to do; at a complete loss; embarrassed and flustered; disconcerted
Definition
A four-character idiom meaning 'at a loss, not knowing what to do' — emphasizes frozen, bewildered inaction. Contrast with 惊慌失措 (which stresses panic) and 束手无策 (which stresses helplessness to solve a problem).
phrase
not knowing what to doat a complete lossembarrassed and flustereddisconcerted
Examples
- ，不知所措。Miàn duì zhè ge tū rú qí lái de wèn tí, tā bù zhī-suǒ cuò.Faced with this unexpected question, he didn't know what to do.
- ，不知所措。Kǎo shì shí yù dào bú huì de tí, wǒ dùn shí bù zhī-suǒ cuò.When I encountered a question I couldn't answer during the exam, I was suddenly at a loss.
- ，不知所措。Zài zhòng rén miàn qián shuō cuò huà, tā gǎn dào shí fēn bù zhī-suǒ cuò.Having said the wrong thing in front of everyone, he crowd, he felt extremely embarrassed and at a loss.
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