# 束手无策

shù shǒu wú cè

Be unable to find an effective solution

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Have bound hands and no plan

**Traditional Chinese:** 束手無策

**Register:** Somber · general

[Choices & judgment](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/decisions)

## When to use it

Describe helplessness before a difficult problem.

It means no effective method is available, not simply refusing to try.

## Understanding the expression

Bound hands prevent action even when a problem is visible. Adding the absence of a plan makes the helplessness both practical and mental. The expression suits a broken system, unfamiliar illness, or crisis that defeats the available methods. It can describe an expert who reaches the limits of present knowledge. It does not always mean permanent impossibility; a new tool or another person's help may release the imagined hands.

## Examples

面对这种新故障，维修员一时束手无策。

### Traditional Chinese

面對這種新故障，維修員一時束手無策。

miàn duì zhè zhǒng xīn gù zhàng ， wéi xiū yuán yì shí shù shǒu wú cè 。

The technician was temporarily helpless before the unfamiliar fault.

密码忘了又没有备份，我束手无策。

### Traditional Chinese

密碼忘了又沒有備份，我束手無策。

mì mǎ wàng le yòu méi yǒu bèi fèn ， wǒ shù shǒu wú cè 。

With the password forgotten and no backup, I had no solution.

医生并非束手无策，还可以尝试其他方案。

### Traditional Chinese

醫生並非束手無策，還可以嘗試其他方案。

yī shēng bìng fēi shù shǒu wú cè ， hái kě yǐ cháng shì qí tā fāng àn 。

The doctors are not out of options; other treatments can be tried.

河水突然上涨，游客束手无策，只能求援。

### Traditional Chinese

河水突然上漲，遊客束手無策，只能求援。

hé shuǐ tū rán shàng zhǎng ， yóu kè shù shǒu wú cè ， zhǐ néng qiú yuán 。

As the river suddenly rose, tourists were helpless and had to call for rescue.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E6%9D%9F%E6%89%8B%E7%84%A1%E7%AD%96)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=418&webMd=1&la=0)

## Keep exploring

- [束之高阁 shù zhī gāo gé Set something aside and ignore it ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/shu-zhi-gao-ge)

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