措手不及

cuò-shǒu-bù-jí

literal: wrong hand, too late
translated: caught on the wrong foot / caught by surprise

cuò

wrong

shǒu

hand

不及

bùjí

too late, inferior

not

to reach, to rival

Examples

买辣椒也用券 - 起风了

Feng Qinyuan - Qi Feng Le

措不及防闯入你的笑颜

Cuò-bù-jí-fáng chuǎng rù nǐ de xiàoyán

Your smiling face bursting in caught me by surprise

The phrase 措不及防 (cuò-bù-jí-fáng) is a combination of the idioms 猝不及防 (cù-bù-jí-fáng) and 措手不及 (cuò-shǒu-bù-jí), both of which mean "caught by surprise".

汤毓琦 - 爱情雨

9m88 - Love Rain

爱情下的雨来得太急, 让我措手不及

Àiqíng xià de yǔ lái dé tài jí, ràng wǒ cuòshǒubùjí

Love under the rains came so suddenly, it caught me off-guard

This lyric uses the idiom in its standard form, and describes the suddenness with which the singer fell in love.