進退兩難

进退两难
jìntuìliǎngnán
  1. no room to advance or to retreat (idiom); without any way out of a dilemma
  2. trapped
  3. in an impossible situation

CEDICT

between a rock and a hard place; in a bind; in a pickle

Wiktionary

前進不了，又後退不得。形容處境困窘。

重編國語辭典

  1. 身處困難的境地
  2. 陷入圈套

維基詞典

Entry Composition

1 進退 jìntuì
  1. to advance or retreat
  2. knowing when to come and when to leave
  3. a sense of propriety
2 兩難 liǎngnán
  1. dilemma
  2. quandary
  3. to face a difficult choice

Related entries

進退為難 jìntuìwéinán
  1. no room to advance or to retreat (idiom); without any way out of a dilemma
  2. trapped
  3. in an impossible situation
進退維谷 jìntuìwéigǔ
  1. no room to advance or to retreat (idiom); without any way out of a dilemma
  2. trapped
  3. in an impossible situation
受困 shòukùn
  1. trapped
  2. stranded
許多勞動者受困在煤礦場中。

Many workers were trapped in the coal mine.

Source: Tatoeba

羊觸藩籬 yángchùfānlí
  1. lit. billy goat's horns caught in the fence (idiom from Book of Changes 易經); impossible to advance or to retreat
  2. without any way out of a dilemma
  3. trapped
  4. in an impossible situation
羝羊觸藩 dīyángchùfān
  1. lit. billy goat's horns caught in the fence (idiom from Book of Changes 易經); impossible to advance or to retreat
  2. without any way out of a dilemma
  3. trapped
  4. in an impossible situation