怯懦 (qiènuò): timid

Meanings

1 timid
2 cowardly
3 chicken-hearted
4 faint-hearted

Characters

怯

Examples

他生性怯懦，从不敢反对上司。

Tā shēngxìng qiènuò, cóng bù gǎn fǎnduì shàngsī.

He is timid by nature and never dares to oppose his superiors.

面对困难，我们不能怯懦退缩。

Miànduì kùnnan, wǒmen bùnéng qiènuò tuìsuō.

Facing difficulties, we must not be cowardly and retreat.

Tips

memory

怯 (timid/afraid) + 懦 (weak-willed/cowardly) — both characters independently mean cowardly/timid, so together they reinforce the same meaning. This doubling of near-synonyms is a common Chinese pattern to intensify a quality (like 聪明伶俐 for cleverness).