临阵退缩

Traditional (Taiwan): 臨陣退縮

línzhèntuìsuō ㄌㄧㄣˊ ㄓㄣˋ ㄊㄨㄟˋ ㄙㄨㄛ

    • to shrink back as the time for battle approaches (idiom)
    • to get cold feet

Character by character

Sources