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臨陣退縮

简 临阵退缩 · 繁 臨陣退縮
Mandarin · pinyin lín zhèn tuì suō

Meanings

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

臨
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陣
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退
tuì · step back, retreat, withdraw
縮
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临
lín · draw near, approach; descend
阵
zhèn · column, row or file of troops
缩
suō · contract, draw in, reduce
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 臨陣退縮 ↗Words written with 臨 ↗Words written with 陣 ↗Words written with 退 ↗Words written with 縮 ↗Words written with 临 ↗Words written with 阵 ↗Words written with 缩 ↗

Mandarin tones

2–4–4–1 · lin2 zhen4 tui4 suo1

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

lam4 zan6 teoi3 suk1

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

臨陣退縮 · lin2 zhen4 tui4 suo1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 91,725
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record臨陣退縮 临阵退缩 [lin2 zhen4 tui4 suo1] /to shrink back as the time for battle approaches (idiom)/to get cold feet/