临阵退缩 lín zhèn tuì suō

to get cold feet

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to get cold feet
  2. 2. to shrink back as the time for battle approaches (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
临 lín HSK 5
to face; to be (just) about to; just before
阵 zhèn HSK 5
classifier for events or states of short duration
退 tuì HSK 5
to withdraw; to retreat; to move back
缩 suō HSK 5
to shrink; to contract; to reduce