腳踏兩條船
简 脚踏两条船 · 繁 腳踏兩條船Meanings
- lit. to stand with each foot in a different boat (idiom)
- fig. to have it both ways
- to run after two hares
- (especially) to have two lovers at the same time
Characters in this entry
- 腳
- jiǎo · foot; base, leg, foundation
- 踏
- tà · step on, trample, tread on, walk
- 兩
- liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce
- 條
- tiáo · clause, condition; string, stripe
- 船
- chuán · ship, boat, vessel
- 脚
- jiǎo · leg, foot; base, leg, foundation
- 两
- liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce
- 条
- tiáo · clause, condition; string, stripe
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
3–4–3–2–2 · jiao3 ta4 liang3 tiao2 chuan2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
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.
腳踏兩條船 · find source passages ↗ · 脚踏两条船 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
goek3 daap6 loeng5 tiu4 syun4
Cantonese word readings for 腳踏兩條船. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
phrase
- (idiomatic) to have a foot in both camps
- (idiomatic) to have two dates at the same time, to two-time
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack