手足无措 (shǒu zú wú cuò) — at a loss; flustered; not knowing what to do

Definition

A chengyu describing being at a total loss — so flustered, nervous, or shocked that you don't know what to do or say. Stronger than 'confused'; implies being momentarily paralyzed.

idiom
at a lossflusterednot knowing what to do

Examples

  • 手足无措
    Miàn duì zhè ge wèn tí, tā shǒu zú wú cuò, bù zhī dào gāi zěn me huí dá.
    Faced with this problem, he was at a loss, not knowing how to answer.
  • 手足无措
    Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, dà jiā dōu shǒu zú wú cuò, yì shí shuō bù chū huà lái.
    Hearing this news, everyone was at a loss, unable to speak for a moment.
  • Tā dì yī cì shàng tái yǎn jiǎng, jǐn zhāng dé shǒu zú wú cuò.
    He gave a speech on stage for the first time, was so nervous he was at a loss.

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