進退為難

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

CEDICT

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 為難 wéinán
  1. to feel embarrassed or awkward
  2. to make things difficult (for someone)
  3. to find things difficult (to do or manage)

Related entries

進退兩難 jìntuìliǎngnán
  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