| 老鼠拉龟，无从下手 |
lǎo shǔ lā guī , wú cóng xià shǒu |
like mice trying to pull a turtle, nowhere to get a hand grip (idiom) / no clue where to start |
| 老 |
lǎo |
prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity / old (of people) / venerable (person) / experienced / of long standing / always / all the time / of the past / very / outdated / (of meat etc) tough |
| 老鼠 |
lǎo shǔ |
rat; mouse (CL:只) |
| 鼠 |
shǔ |
(bound form) rat; mouse |
| 拉 |
lā |
to pull / to play (a bowed instrument) / to drag / to draw / to chat / (coll.) to empty one's bowels |
| 拉 |
lá |
to make a cut in (sth); to slit; to gash; to slash |
| 拉 |
là |
used in 拉拉蛄 / variant of 落 |
| 龟 |
guī |
tortoise; turtle / (coll.) cuckold |
| 龟 |
jūn |
variant of 皲 |
| 龟 |
qiū |
used in 龟兹 |
| 无 |
mó |
used in 南无 |
| 无 |
wú |
not to have / no / none / not / to lack / un- / -less |
| 无从 |
wú cóng |
not to have access / beyond one's authority or capability / sth one has no way of doing |
| 无从下手 |
wú cóng xià shǒu |
not know where to start |
| 从 |
cóng |
variant of 从 |
| 从 |
Cóng |
surname Cong |
| 从 |
cóng |
from; through; via / (bound form) to follow / (bound form) to obey / (bound form) to engage in (an activity) / (used before a negative) ever / (bound form) (Taiwan pr. [zong4]) retainer; attendant / (bound form) (Taiwan pr. [zong4]) assistant; auxiliary; subordinate / (bound form) (Taiwan pr. [zong4]) related by common paternal grandfather or earlier ancestor |
| 下 |
xià |
down / downwards / below / lower / later / next (week etc) / second (of two parts) / to decline / to go down / to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc) / measure word to show the frequency of an action |
| 下手 |
xià shǒu |
to start / to put one's hand to / to set about / the seat to the right of the main guest |
| 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:双,只 |