手足无措 shǒu zú wú cuò at a loss

Explanation

形容人在遇到紧急情况时，手脚不知该怎么办，不知所措，很慌张。

Describes a person who is in a state of panic and doesn't know what to do when faced with an emergency situation.

Origin Story

在一个阳光明媚的早晨，小兔子欢快地蹦蹦跳跳地在森林里采蘑菇。它一边采蘑菇，一边哼着小曲儿，心里美滋滋的。突然，一阵狂风呼啸而过，将小兔子采的蘑菇吹得满天飞，小兔子顿时慌了神，它急急忙忙地想把蘑菇捡起来，可是，风太大了，蘑菇被吹得越来越远，小兔子眼看着那些辛苦采来的蘑菇飞走了，心里难过极了，它手足无措地站在原地，不知该如何是好。这时，一只老狐狸从树林里走了出来，它看到小兔子慌慌张张的样子，笑着说：“孩子，别慌，你只要安静地站在这里，蘑菇就会被风吹回到你的身边。”小兔子听了老狐狸的话，顿时放松了下来，它静静地站在原地，果然，过了一会儿，风渐渐地小了，那些被吹飞的蘑菇也慢慢地飘落了下来，小兔子开心地将蘑菇捡起来，高兴地回家去了。

zài yī gè yáng guāng míng mèi de zǎo chén, xiǎo tù zi huān kuài de bèng bèng tiào tiào de zài sēn lín lǐ cǎi mò gu. tā yī biān cǎi mò gu, yī biān hēng zhe xiǎo qū ér, xīn lǐ měi zī zī de. túrán, yī zhèn kuáng fēng hū xiào ér guò, jiāng xiǎo tù zi cǎi de mò gu chuī de mǎn tiān fēi, xiǎo tù zi dùn shí huāng le shén, tā jí jí máng máng de xiǎng bǎ mò gu jiǎn qǐ lái, kě shì, fēng tài dà le, mò gu bèi chuī de yuè lái yuè yuǎn, xiǎo tù zi yǎn zhēng zhe nà xiē xīn kǔ cǎi lái de mò gu fēi zǒu le, xīn lǐ nán guò jí le, tā shǒu zú wú cuò de zhàn zài yuán dì, bù zhī rú hé shì hǎo. zhè shí, yī zhī lǎo hú lí cóng shù lín lǐ zǒu le chū lái, tā kàn dào xiǎo tù zi huāng huāng zhāng zhāng de yàng zi, xiào zhe shuō: “hái zi, bié huāng, nǐ zhǐ yào ānjìng de zhàn zài zhè lǐ, mò gu jiù huì bèi fēng chuī huí dào nǐ de shēn biān.” xiǎo tù zi tīng le lǎo hú lí de huà, dùn shí fàng sōng le xià lái, tā jìng jìng de zhàn zài yuán dì, guǒrán, guò le yī huì ér, fēng jiàn jiàn de xiǎo le, nà xiē bèi chuī fēi de mò gu yě màn màn de piāo luò le xià lái, xiǎo tù zi kāi xīn de jiāng mò gu jiǎn qǐ lái, gāo xìng de huí jiā qù le.

On a sunny morning, a little rabbit was hopping happily through the forest, picking mushrooms. It picked mushrooms and hummed a little tune, feeling very happy. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through, sending the little rabbit's collected mushrooms flying all over the place. The little rabbit was immediately panicked and tried frantically to pick up the mushrooms. But the wind was too strong, the mushrooms were blown further and further away. The little rabbit watched helplessly as the hard-earned mushrooms flew away, and was very sad. It stood there at a loss, not knowing what to do. At that moment, an old fox came out of the woods. It saw the little rabbit, which was in a panic, and said with a smile,

Usage

这个成语一般用来形容人在遇到紧急情况时，手脚不知该怎么办，不知所措，很慌张。例如：”面对突如其来的变故，他手足无措，不知所措。“

zhè ge chéng yǔ yī bàn yòng lái xíng róng rén zài yù dào jǐn jí qíng kuàng shí, shǒu jiǎo bù zhī gāi zěn me bàn, bù zhī suǒ cuò, hěn huāng zhāng. lì rú: ”miàn duì tú rú lái de biàn gù, tā shǒu zú wú cuò, bù zhī suǒ cuò.

This idiom is generally used to describe a person who is in a state of panic and doesn't know what to do when faced with an emergency situation. For example: „Faced with the sudden change, he was at a loss, not knowing what to do.”

Examples

• 面对突如其来的变故，他手足无措，不知所措。

  miàn duì tú rú lái de biàn gù, tā shǒu zú wú cuò, bù zhī suǒ cuò.

  Faced with the sudden change, he was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

• 面对面试官的提问，他手足无措，答不上来。

  miàn duì miàn shì guān de tí wèn, tā shǒu zú wú cuò, dá bù shàng lái

  Faced with the interviewer's questions, he was at a loss and could not answer.

Related Idioms

• 慌张失措

• 手忙脚乱

• 不知所措

• 六神无主

• 惊慌失措

Opposite Idioms

• 镇定自若

• 处变不惊

• 泰然自若