进退两难

進退兩難

jìntuì-liǎngnán

idiom #14,406

Meanings

1 caught in a dilemma
2 no way to advance or retreat
3 between a rock and a hard place

Characters

retreat; withdraw

difficult; hard

Examples

他现在进退两难，不知道该怎么办。

Tā xiànzài jìntuìliǎngnán, bùzhī dào gāi zěnmebàn.

He's caught in a dilemma now and doesn't know what to do.

公司陷入了进退两难的局面。

Gōngsī xiànrù le jìntuìliǎngnán de júmiàn.

The company found itself in an impossible situation.

Tips

memory

进 (advance) + 退 (retreat) + 两 (both) + 难 (difficult) — both going forward and going back are difficult.

Stroke Order

进 jìn

退 tuì

两 liǎng

难 nán