DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

不知所措

Mandarin · pinyin bù zhī suǒ cuò

not knowing what to do (idiom); at one's wits' end
embarrassed and at a complete loss

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
所: suǒ · place, location; numerary adjunct
措: cuò · place; collect, arrange; employ

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–1–3–4 · bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 zi1 so2 cou3

Cantonese word readings for 不知所措. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to be at a loss for what to do; to lose one's bearings

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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