not knowing what's what; unable to make heads or tails of something
Expresses confusion when a situation is chaotic, unclear, or overwhelming, making it impossible to grasp what is happening.
The explanation is too complicated; I can't make heads or tails of it.
Because of the sudden event, I didn't know what was going on.
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling.
Variant using 分かる for わかる.
A fixed expression composed of 何 (what), が (subject marker), 何だか (what it is), and わからない (not understand). The repetition of 何 and the contrast between が and だか create a sense of total confusion.