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進退維谷

简进退维谷 · 繁進退維谷

Mandarin · pinyin jìn tuì wéi gǔ

no room to advance or to retreat (idiom); without any way out of a dilemma
trapped
in an impossible situation

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Characters in this entry

進: jìn · advance, make progress, enter
退: tuì · step back, retreat, withdraw
維: Look up this written character
谷: gǔ · valley, gorge, ravine; Kangxi radical 150
进: jìn · advance, make progress, enter
维: wéi · maintain, preserve, safeguard

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–3 · jin4 tui4 wei2 gu3

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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.

進退維谷 · find source passages ↗ · 进退维谷 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zeon3 teoi3 wai4 guk1

Cantonese word readings for 進退維谷. 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) between a rock and a hard place

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

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