措手不及 cuò shǒu bù jí

DEFINITIONS

  1. no time to deal with it (idiom); caught unprepared

CHARACTERS

措 cuò
HSK 5
place; collect, arrange; employ
手 shǒu
HSK 2
hand
不 bù
HSK 1
no, not; un-; negative prefix
及 jí
HSK 4
extend; reach; come up to; and