露知らず (tsuyu shirazu: utterly ignorant) a little bit + to know (neg.)
まさかそのような窮地に立たされているとは露知らず。
Masaka sono yōna kyūchi ni tatasarete iru to wa tsuyu shirazu.
Good grief! I had no idea you had been placed in such a tight spot.I love the “Good grief,” as it conjures up images of Charlie Brown.
まさか (masaka: by no means)
そのような (sono yōna: such; that kind of)
窮地 (kyūchi: dilemma)
to be in extremity + one’s position
立 (ta(tsu): to find oneself in a difficult position)The causative-passive form of this verb is 立たされる (tatasareru: to be put in a difficult position). The verb form changes a bit more when one uses the present progressive form (that is, the -te iru form), which is what we see above: 立たされている (tatasarete iru). Whew!
