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束手无策 (shù shǒu-wú cè) — (idiom) helpless; at one's wit's end; unable to do anything about a situation

Definition

Literally 'hands bound, no plan' — used for being utterly helpless before a problem. Stronger than 无奈 (merely having no choice); close to 一筹莫展, which focuses on having no idea what to try.

idiom
helplessat one's wit's endunable to do anything about a situation

Examples

  • ，束手无策。
    Miàn duì zhè ge nán tí, tā shù shǒu-wú cè.
    Faced with this difficult problem, he was helpless.
  • ，束手无策。
    Duì yú zhè zhǒng jí bìng, yī shēng men yě shù shǒu-wú cè.
    For this disease, doctors were also at a loss.
  • 束手无策，。
    Tā shù shǒu-wú cè, bù zhī dào gāi zěn me bàn.
    He was helpless and didn't know what to do.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

束手bind hands
束shùbind手shǒuhands
动宾Verb + object
无策lack plan
无wúlack策cèplan
动宾Verb + object

“束手” suggests hands being tied up and “无策” means no plan, showing complete helplessness.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The shape of 束 comes from a drawing of a bag tied at both ends.

Open 束 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
朿
朿cì策cè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

策 pairs 竹 (bamboo) with 朿 as a sound part.

Open 策 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set Phrases

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