DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
知難而退
简 知难而退 · 繁 知難而退Mandarin · pinyin zhī nán ér tuì
Meanings
- (lit.) to sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat (idiom)
- (fig.) to back out of an awkward situation; to get out on finding out what it's really like
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Mandarin tones
1–2–2–4 · zhi1 nan2 er2 tui4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
zi1 naan4 ji4 teoi3
Cantonese word readings for 知難而退. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
zi1 naan4 ji4 teoi3
Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
phrase
- (idiomatic) to retreat or shrink back in face of difficulties
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack