措手不及 (cuò shǒu bù jí) — caught off guard, taken by surprise, unprepared (for a sudden event)
Definition
An idiom for being caught off guard by a sudden event, with no time to react. Pairs with 突如其来 (the cause); 束手无策 describes the resulting helplessness.
phrase
caught off guardtaken by surpriseunprepared (for a sudden event)
Examples
- ，措手不及。Zhè cì miàn shì de wèn tí hěn diāo zuān, wǒ bèi dǎ dé cuò shǒu bù jí.The questions in this interview were so tricky that I was caught completely off guard.
- ，措手不及。Bào fēng yǔ lái de tài tū rán, zhěng gè chéng shì dōu cuò shǒu bù jí.The storm came so suddenly that the whole city was caught unprepared.
- ，措手不及。Duì fāng tí chū zhè ge yāo qiú, wǒ men shí zài cuò shǒu bù jí.The other side made this request, and we were truly caught off guard.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.