畏首畏尾 (wèi shǒu wèi wěi) — timid and overcautious, too full of misgivings to act

Definition

Idiom: 'fearful at both head and tail' — describes someone too timid and hesitant to act, overcautious at every step.

idiom
timid and overcautioustoo full of misgivings to act

Examples

  • 畏首畏尾，。
    Tā zuò shì zǒng shì wèi shǒu wèi wěi, bù gǎn chéng dān rèn hé fēng xiǎn.
    He is always overly cautious and afraid to take any risks.
  • ，畏首畏尾，。
    Zài zhè ge jìng zhēng jī liè de háng yè, bù néng wèi shǒu wèi wěi, yào gǎn yú cháng shì xīn fāng fǎ.
    In this fiercely competitive industry, you can't be too timid; you have to dare to try new approaches.
  • 畏首畏尾，。
    Lǐng dǎo pī píng tā wèi shǒu wèi wěi, quē fá guǒ duàn de jué cè néng lì.
    The leader criticized him for being overcautious and lacking decisive decision-making ability.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

畏首fear the front
畏wèifear首shǒufront
动宾Verb + object
畏尾fear the rear
畏wèifear尾wěirear
动宾Verb + object

畏首 and 畏尾 pair fears of the front and the rear, suggesting excessive caution.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
鬼
鬼guǐ畏wèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An early form of 畏 drew a ghost 鬼 holding a stick. Later, 卜 was used as the meaning part and 鬼 as the sound part.

Open 畏 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape comes from an old drawing of an animal's head, showing a long mouth and horns; the version with hair became 首.

Open 首 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
鬼
鬼guǐ畏wèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An early form of 畏 drew a ghost 鬼 holding a stick. Later, 卜 was used as the meaning part and 鬼 as the sound part.

Open 畏 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The form 尾 combines 尸 (person) and 毛 (hair; feather).

Open 尾 →

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