不知所措 — “To be at a loss as to what to do”
不知所措 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be at a loss as to what to do”. To be bewildered or perplexed; to be completely at one's wits' end. Literally, “not know where to place/handle”.
Frequency
不知所措 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 不bù
- 知zhī
- 所suǒ
- 措cuò
不知所措 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 不知所措
面对突如其来的变化，她感到不知所措
Faced with the sudden changes, she felt completely bewildered.
Origin and Story of 不知所措
During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Ke, son of Zhuge Jin (Zhuge Liang's elder brother), was exceptionally intelligent from a young age.
After growing up, Sun Quan appointed him Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince.
Zhuge Ke was dissatisfied with Crown Prince Sun He. After Sun Quan's death, he immediately deposed the Crown Prince, replacing him with the ten-year-old Sun Liang as emperor, and took full power himself.
Swelling with pride, he wrote to his younger brother Zhuge Rong, stating: "Grief and joy are intertwined, and I am at a loss as to what to do."
Idioms Related to 不知所措
Synonyms of 不知所措
Antonyms of 不知所措
More idioms starting with 不
- bù不yī一ér而zú足numerous and varied, impossible to list all
- bù不sān三bù不sì四improper or disreputable
- bù不shàng上bù不xià下stuck in an awkward position
- bù不shàng上bù不luò落in an awkward or embarrassing situation
- bù不shì世zhī之yè业unparalleled achievements
- bù不shì世zhī之chóu仇unrivaled enmity
- bù不shì世zhī之gōng功unparalleled achievement
- bù不shì世zhī之lüè略unparalleled strategy
- bù不sàng丧bǐ匕chàng鬯peace and order, rituals undisturbed
- bù不fēng丰bù不jiǎn俭neither extravagant nor frugal
- bù不fēng丰bù不shā杀neither extravagant nor frugal
- bù不wèi为wǔ五dǒu斗mǐ米zhé折yāo腰Refuse to compromise integrity for meager gain
Questions about 不知所措
- What does 不知所措 mean?
- 不知所措 (bù zhī suǒ cuò) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be at a loss as to what to do”.
- How do you pronounce 不知所措?
- 不知所措 is pronounced bù zhī suǒ cuò in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 不知所措 literally mean?
- Literally, 不知所措 means “not know where to place/handle”. It is used to mean “to be at a loss as to what to do”.
- Where does 不知所措 come from?
- 不知所措 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 不知所措?
- 措：安置，处理。不知道怎么办才好。形容处境为难或心神慌乱。