📖 Meaning
Describes something that cannot be fathomed, predicted, or pinned down; uncertain and hard to judge. It is used for a person's intentions, a situation, or a phenomenon that keeps shifting or remains unclear.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from the Ming dynasty novel "Water Margin" (水浒传) by Shi Nai'an, Chapter 2. In the scene, Zhu Wu and Yang Chun, two leaders of the Shaohua Mountain bandits, are inside their stronghold, anxious and suspicious about an unexpected visitor, unable to figure out his true intentions. The expression captured their state of guessing without reaching a firm conclusion, and it became a set phrase for anything that eludes definite judgment.
💡 Example Usage
他的心思总是捉摸不定，谁也猜不透他在想什么。
His mind is always impossible to read, and no one can guess what he is thinking.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 捉摸不定
- Pinyin: zhuō mō bù dìng
- Literal Translation: grasp, guess, not, certain
- Category: Clarity
- Characters: 4