不知所措

Chinese

to not know; to have no idea of; to be ignorant of
to not know; to have no idea of; to be ignorant of; to wonder if
 
 actually; place; (nominalization prefix)
put in order; arrange; administer
put in order; arrange; administer; execute; take action on
 
simp. and trad.
(不知所措) 		不知 所 措

Etymology

See 手足無措／手足无措 (shǒuzúwúcuò), this form first attested in 252 CE, in a letter sent by Zhuge Ke to his brother Rong, shortly after Sun Liang ascended the throne

皇太子以丁酉踐尊號，哀喜交幷，不知所措。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
皇太子以丁酉践尊号，哀喜交并，不知所措。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: 252, 諸葛恪,《與弟公安督融書》
Huángtàizǐ yǐ dīngyǒu jiàn zūnhào, āi xǐ jiāobìng, bùzhī suǒ cuò. [Pinyin]
The Crown Prince trod on the throne on the dingyou day. I had a mixed feeling of pleasure and foreboding, knowing not what to do.

Pronunciation

Idiom

不知所措

  1. to be at a loss for what to do; to lose one's bearings
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