手足無措

手足無措

Chinese

		hands and feet	helpless
trad. (手足無措)		手足	無措
simp. (手足无措)		手足	无措
Literally: “to have no way to move the hands or feet”.

Etymology

From the Analects

刑罰不中，則民無所措手足。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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刑罚不中，则民无所措手足。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Xíngfá bù zhòng, zé mín wú suǒ cuò shǒu zú. [Pinyin]

When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shǒuzúwúcuò

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄡˇ ㄗㄨˊ ㄨˊ ㄘㄨㄛˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sau² zuk¹ mou⁴ cou³

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shǒuzúwúcuò
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄡˇ ㄗㄨˊ ㄨˊ ㄘㄨㄛˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shǒuzúwúcuò
    • Wade–Giles: shou³-tsu²-wu²-tsʻo⁴
    • Yale: shǒu-dzú-wú-tswò
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shooutzwuwutsuoh
    • Palladius: шоуцзууцо (šouczuuco)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ t͡su³⁵ u³⁵ t͡sʰwɔ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: sau² zuk¹ mou⁴ cou³
    • Yale: sáu jūk mòuh chou
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sau² dzuk⁷ mou⁴ tsou³
    • Guangdong Romanization: seo² zug¹ mou⁴ cou³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐu̯³⁵ t͡sʊk̚⁵ mou̯²¹ t͡sʰou̯³³/

Idiom

手足無措

1. to be at a loss for what to do