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驚慌失措

简惊慌失措 · 繁驚慌失措

Mandarin · pinyin jīng huāng shī cuò

to lose one's head out of fear (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

驚: Look up this written character
慌: huāng · nervous, panicky, frantic
失: shī · lose; make mistake, neglect
措: cuò · place; collect, arrange; employ
惊: jīng · frighten, surprise, startle

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–1–4 · jing1 huang1 shi1 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.

驚慌失措 · find source passages ↗ · 惊慌失措 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ging1 fong1 sat1 cou3

Cantonese word readings for 驚慌失措. 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 lose one's head over fear; to panic; to be thrown into a panic; to be frightened out of one's wits; to be in a state of panic

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

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