Definition
措手不及 (cuò shǒu bù jí) means 'caught off guard, unprepared' — it describes a person's state when a sudden event happens and they have no time to react. 突如其来 (tū rú qí lái) describes the event itself as sudden, not the person's reaction. 束手无策 (shù shǒu wú cè) goes further: it means being helpless and unable to do anything about a situation, not just caught by surprise.
phrase
caught off guardtaken by surpriseunprepared (for a sudden event)
Examples
- ，措手不及。Zhè cì miànshì de wèntí hěn diāozuān bèi dǎ de cuò shǒu bù jí.The questions in this interview were so tricky that I was caught completely off guard.
- ，措手不及。Bàofēngyǔ lái de tài tūrán，zhěng gè chéngshì dōu cuò shǒu bù jí.The storm came so suddenly that the whole city was caught unprepared.
- ，措手不及。Duìfāng tíchū zhège yāoqiú, wǒmen shízài cuò shǒu bù jí.The other side made this request, and we were truly caught off guard.
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