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失措 (shī cuò) — to be disconcerted; to lose one's composure or presence of mind (especially in panic or fright)

Definition

失措 (shī cuò) is a formal written verb meaning to lose composure in panic or fright — stronger and more literary than colloquial phrases like 慌张 or 不知所措. It usually appears in fixed patterns such as 惊慌失措 / 不慌不忙.

verb
to be disconcertedto lose one's composure or presence of mind (especially in panic or fright)

Examples

  • ，失措。
    Miàn duì tū rú qí lái de biàn gù, tā wán quán shī cuò le.
    Faced with the sudden change, he completely lost his composure.
  • ，失措，。
    Tā cóng wèi yù dào guò zhè zhǒng qíng kuàng, yì shí shī cuò, bù zhī dào gāi zěn me bàn.
    She had never encountered such a situation before and was momentarily at a loss, not knowing what to do.
  • ，，失措。
    Zài jǐn jí qíng kuàng xià, bǎo chí lěng jìng, bú yào shī cuò.
    In an emergency, stay calm and don't panic.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

失shīlose
措cuòarrangement

“失” means lose and “措” means arrangement or composure, so the word means losing one's bearings.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
昔
昔xī措cuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 扌 shows a hand, and the right side 昔 gives the sound; together they form 措.

Open 措 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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