手忙脚乱
shǒu máng jiǎo luàn
in a flurry
Character by character
手shǒu
hands
hands
忙máng
busy
busy
脚jiǎo
feet
feet
乱luàn
in chaos
in chaos
Example
第一次做饭,我手忙脚乱。
The first time I cooked, I was all in a flurry.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Everyday and vivid; often 忙得 or 弄得手忙脚乱.
Learn it in context
This idiom and thousands more are in Learn Chinese with Bao, with audio, pinyin and drills that make them stick.
Start the course free →