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進退失據

简进退失据 · 繁進退失據

Mandarin · pinyin jìn tuì shī jù

no room to advance or to retreat (idiom); at a loss
in a hopeless situation

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Characters in this entry

進: jìn · advance, make progress, enter
退: tuì · step back, retreat, withdraw
失: shī · lose; make mistake, neglect
據: Look up this written character
进: jìn · advance, make progress, enter
据: jù · to occupy, take possession of; a base, position

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–1–4 · jin4 tui4 shi1 ju4

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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.

進退失據 · find source passages ↗ · 进退失据 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zeon3 teoi3 sat1 geoi3

Cantonese word readings for 進退失據. 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 be between a rock and a hard place

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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