知难而退 (zhī) — to retreat upon realizing the difficulties; to give up when things get tough
Definition
A chengyu meaning 'to shrink back once you see the difficulty' — usually a negative judgment of giving up too easily. Often paired with 坚持到底 in contrast (see the examples).
idiom
to retreat upon realizing the difficultiesto give up when things get tough
Examples
- 知难而退，。Yù dào yì diǎn kùn nan jiù zhī, zhè bú shì hǎo xí guàn.Giving up at the first sign of difficulty is not a good habit.
- 知难而退，。Tā zuò shì cóng bù zhī, zǒng shì jiān chí dào dǐ.He never retreats from difficulties when doing things; he always persists to the end.
- ，知难而退。Zhè ge xiàng mù fēng xiǎn tài dà, wǒ men zuì hǎo zhī.This project is too risky — we'd better back out.
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