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知難而退

简知难而退 · 繁知難而退

Mandarin · pinyin zhī nán ér tuì

(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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Characters in this entry

知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
難: Look up this written character
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
退: tuì · step back, retreat, withdraw
难: nán · difficult, arduous, hard; unable

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2–2–4 · zhi1 nan2 er2 tui4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

知難而退 · find source passages ↗ · 知难而退 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi1 naan4 ji4 teoi3

Cantonese word readings for 知難而退. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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

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