tiến thoái lưỡng nan
Vietnamese edit
Alternative forms edit
- (Southern Vietnam, dated) tấn thối lưỡng nan
Etymology edit
Sino-Vietnamese word from 進退兩難.
Pronunciation edit
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [tiən˧˦ tʰwaːj˧˦ lɨəŋ˦ˀ˥ naːn˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [tiəŋ˦˧˥ tʰwaːj˨˩˦ lɨəŋ˧˨ naːŋ˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [tiəŋ˦˥ tʰ⁽ʷ⁾aːj˦˥ lɨəŋ˨˩˦ naːŋ˧˧]
Phrase edit
- (literal) it's difficult either to advance or to retreat
- between a rock and a hard place