进退为难 jìn tuì wéi nán

in a dilemma; hard to move forward or back

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. no room to advance or to retreat (idiom); without any way out of a dilemma
  2. 2. trapped
  3. 3. in an impossible situation

Characters

Character Meaning
进 jìn HSK 2
to enter; to go in; to go forward
退 tuì HSK 5
to withdraw; to retreat; to move back
为 wéi HSK 2
for; because of; to
难 nán HSK 3
difficult; difficult (to...); difficulty