不 bù
- Strokes
- 4
- Radical
- 一 — one
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
不知所措
bùzhīsuǒcuò
to be at a loss; not know what to do
Characters in this word
知 zhī
- Strokes
- 8
- Radical
- 矢 — arrow, dart
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
措 cuò
- Strokes
- 11
- Radical
- 扌 — hand
- Made of
- 扌 hand 昔 past, former
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
Example phrases
- 老师突然叫他回答问题，他一下子不知所措。 Lǎoshī tūrán jiào tā huídá wèntí, tā yíxiàzi bùzhīsuǒcuò. The teacher suddenly called on him to answer a question, and he was completely at a loss.
- 第一次上台，她紧张得不知所措。 Dì yí cì shàng tái, tā jǐnzhāng de bùzhīsuǒcuò. On stage for the first time, she was so nervous she did not know what to do.
- 迷路以后，孩子站在路口不知所措。 Mílù yǐhòu, háizi zhàn zài lùkǒu bùzhīsuǒcuò. After getting lost, the child stood at the intersection at a loss.