tiến thoái lưỡng nan

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• (Southern Vietnam, dated) tấn thối lưỡng nan

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 進退兩難.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tiən˧˦ tʰwaːj˧˦ lɨəŋ˦ˀ˥ naːn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [tiəŋ˦˧˥ tʰwaːj˨˩˦ lɨəŋ˧˨ naːŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [tiəŋ˦˥ tʰ⁽ʷ⁾aːj˦˥ lɨəŋ˨˩˦ naːŋ˧˧]

Phrase

tiến thoái lưỡng nan

1. (literal) it's difficult either to advance or to retreat
2. between a rock and a hard place