Making Chinese characters easy to write.

Sister Sites

Five Elements Test

About•Privacy Policy•Terms of Service

DICTIONARY

Chinese Dictionary
Pinyin Index
Radical Index
Character Components
HSK Dictionary
Character Compare

DICTIONARY

Chinese Dictionary
Pinyin Index
Radical Index
Character Components
HSK Dictionary
Character Compare

TOOLS

Worksheet Generator
Worksheet Library
Pinyin Converter
Chinese Name Generator
Zodiac Calculator
HSK Level Checker
Flashcards
Dictation Practice

TOOLS

Worksheet Generator
Worksheet Library
Pinyin Converter
Chinese Name Generator
Zodiac Calculator
HSK Level Checker
Flashcards
Dictation Practice

LEARN

Learning Center
Blog
Chinese Stroke Rules
Chinese Idioms
Chinese Poetry
Pro Membership ✨

LEARN

Learning Center
Blog
Chinese Stroke Rules
Chinese Idioms
Chinese Poetry
Pro Membership ✨

© 2026 Hanzi Stroke. All rights reserved.

Made with♥for Chinese learners.

束手无策 (shù shǒu wú cè): Meaning, Examples & Usage

By CharacterBrowse all characters A-Z

By PinyinSearch by pronunciation

By RadicalFind by radical component

By ComponentsLearn meaning and sound clues

HSK ListsAll HSK versions overview

HSK 2.0 — Current Exam

Learn & Practice

Worksheet GeneratorCreate practice sheets for free

Learning Essentials

Home
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9
束手无策

束手无策 (shù shǒu wú cè): Be at a loss — Meaning & Stroke Order

HSK 3.0Level 7-9

1.

Animated Stroke Order

Stroke order SVGs for the characters in 束手无策.

Stroke order animation for 束手无策

302 learners have practiced this word

Practice writing 束手无策 (shù shǒu wú cè) with a free printable worksheet

HSK 3.0 — New Syllabus

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7-9

Worksheet LibraryHSK, Top 100 & themed PDFs

HSK Level CheckerCheck HSK level of any text

Pinyin ConverterConvert Chinese to Pinyin

Dictation PracticeListen and write HSK characters

HSK FlashcardsSRS review for HSK vocabulary

My Learning

Learning DashboardTrack your writing progress

My VocabularyReview saved words and lists

Fun & Culture

Name GeneratorCreate your Chinese name

8 Basic Strokes GuideHot

Foundation of all characters

Pinyin Tones Guide

4 tones with audio examples

Chinese Handwriting Guide

Daily practice routine

HSK 3.0 Complete GuideNew

New exam format explained

HSK 1 Common Mistakes

Avoid beginner errors

Topics & Culture

Chinese Numbers 1-1000

Count like a native

Time & Dates Guide

Tell time in Chinese

Family Members Guide

30+ family terms

2026 Fire Horse YearHot

Zodiac meaning & luck

Top 100 Characters

Most frequent, free PDF

View All Blog Posts

Download Worksheet

Download

2.

Character Breakdown

束手无策 consists of 4 characters.

bind; tie; bunch; sheaf

plan, scheme; whip; bamboo slips for writing

Word Info

Pinyinshù shǒu wú cè

Meaningbe at a loss

Characters4

HSK 2.0—

HSK 3.0Level 7-9

Syntax—

Word束手无策

Zodiac CalculatorFind your zodiac animal

Related Words

More HSK vocabulary that shares characters with 束手无策.

Words with 束

结束jié shùHSK 3
拘束jū shùHSK 6
束缚shù fùHSK 6
约束yuē shùHSK 6

Words with 手

手机shǒu jīHSK 2
手表shǒu biǎoHSK 2
洗手间xǐ shǒu jiānHSK 3
歌手gē shǒuHSK 4
二手èr shǒuHSK 5
分手fēn shǒuHSK 5
对手duì shǒuHSK 5
手套shǒu tàoHSK 5

Words with 无

无法wú fǎHSK 4
无聊wú liáoHSK 4
无论wú lùnHSK 4
无关wú guānHSK 5
无奈wú nàiHSK 5
无效wú xiàoHSK 5
无数wú shùHSK 5
无限

Words with 策

决策jué cèHSK 6
对策duì cèHSK 6
政策zhèng cèHSK 6
策划cè huàHSK 6
策略cè lüèHSK 6
鞭策biān cèHSK 6
计策jì cèHSK 7-9
鸵鸟政策

wú xiàn

HSK 5

tuó niǎo zhèng cè

3.

How to Use 束手无策 in Sentences

Common collocations & usage patterns. Learn how to combine 束手无策 with other words naturally.

Subject + Verb + Idiomwith面对问题

miàn面

duì对

wèn问

tí题

shù束

shǒu手

wú无

cè策

neutral

be helpless in the face of a problem

Adverb + Idiomwith完全

wán完

quán全

shù束

shǒu手

wú无

cè策

Verb + Objectwith感到

gǎn感

dào到

shù束

shǒu手

wú无

cè策

4.

Example Sentences with 束手无策

wǒ我

de的

chē车

huài坏

le了

，

wǒ我

shù束

neutral

completely helpless

neutral

feel helpless

shǒu手

wú无

cè策

。

My car broke down, and I was at a loss.

miàn面

duì对

tū突

fā发

de的

jì技

shù术

gù故

zhàng障

，

zhěng整

gè个

tuán团

duì队

dōu都

shù束

shǒu手

wú无

cè策

。

Faced with the sudden technical failure, the entire team was at a loss.

nán难

dào道

nǐ你

duì对

zhè这

ge个

jí棘

shǒu手

de的

wèn问

tí题

zhēn真

de的

shù束

shǒu手

wú无

cè策

ma吗

？

Are you really at a loss with this thorny problem?

miàn面

duì对

zhè这

ge个

fù复

zá杂

de的

wèn问

tí题

，

tā他

gǎn感

dào到

shù束

shǒu手

wú无

cè策

。

Faced with this complex problem, he felt helpless.

tā他

bìng并

fēi非

shù束

shǒu手

wú无

cè策

，

zhǐ只

shì是

xū需

yào要

gèng更

duō多

shí时

jiān间

sī思

kǎo考

jiě解

jué决

fāng方

àn案

。

He is not at a loss; he just needs more time to think of a solution.

jǐn尽

guǎn管

cháng尝

shì试

le了

gè各

zhǒng种

fāng方

fǎ法

，

tā他

men们

réng仍

rán然

shù束

shǒu手

wú无

cè策

，

háo毫

wú无

jìn进

zhǎn展

。

Despite trying various methods, they are still at a loss and have made no progress.

zài在

zì自

rán然

zāi灾

hài害

miàn面

qián前

，

rén人

men们

cháng常

cháng常

shù束

shǒu手

wú无

cè策

。

In the face of natural disasters, people often feel powerless.

kàn看

dào到

hái孩

zi子

kū哭

nào闹

bù不

zhǐ止

，

xīn新

shǒu手

fù父

mǔ母

cháng常

cháng常

gǎn感

dào到

shù束

shǒu手

wú无

cè策

。

Seeing their child crying incessantly, new parents often feel at a loss.