束 手

shù shǒudictionary entry

to have one's hands tied / helpless / unable to do anything about it

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-12144c187696fae3. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

束手束手 [shu4 shou3] /to have one's hands tied/helpless/unable to do anything about it/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

束
shù
to bind / bunch / bundle / classifier for bunches, bundles, beams of light etc / to control
Shù
surname Shu
手
shǒu
hand / (formal) to hold / person engaged in certain types of work / person skilled in certain types of work / personal(ly) / convenient / classifier for skill / CL:雙|双[shuāng],隻|只[zhī]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.