措手不及

Chinese

		to deal with something; to handle something; to take care of something	to not do something in time; to be too late; to not reach
trad. (措手不及)		措手	不及
simp. #(措手不及)		措手	不及

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): cuòshǒubùjí

  (Zhuyin): ㄘㄨㄛˋ ㄕㄡˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): cou³ sau² bat¹ kap⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: cuòshǒubùjí
    • Zhuyin: ㄘㄨㄛˋ ㄕㄡˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cuòshǒubùjí
    • Wade–Giles: tsʻo⁴-shou³-pu⁴-chi²
    • Yale: tswò-shǒu-bù-jí
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tsuohshooubujyi
    • Palladius: цошоубуцзи (cošoubuczi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰu̯ɔ⁵¹ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕi³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: cou³ sau² bat¹ kap⁶
    • Yale: chou sáu bāt kahp
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsou³ sau² bat⁷ kap⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: cou³ seo² bed¹ keb⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰou̯³³ sɐu̯³⁵ pɐt̚⁵ kʰɐp̚²/

Idiom

措手不及

1. to be caught unawares

   • 我預將大兵蔭蔽集結於敵必經通路之側，乘敵運動之際，突然前進，包圍而攻擊之，打他一個措手不及，迅速解決戰鬥。 [MSC, trad.]
     我预将大兵荫蔽集结于敌必经通路之侧，乘敌运动之际，突然前进，包围而攻击之，打他一个措手不及，迅速解决战斗。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1938, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《論持久戰》 (On Protracted War), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

     Wǒ yù jiāng dàbīng yìnbì jíjié yú dí bìjīng tōnglù zhī cè, chéng dí yùndòng zhī jì, tūrán qiánjìn, bāowéi ér gōngjī zhī, dǎ tā yīge cuòshǒubùjí, xùnsù jiějué zhàndòu. [Pinyin]

     We should concentrate a big force under cover beforehand alongside the route which the enemy is sure to take, and while he is on the move, advance suddenly to encircle and attack him before he knows what is happening, and thus quickly conclude the battle.

Synonyms

• 猝不及防 (cùbùjífáng)