鬼打牆

Simplified: 鬼打墙

guǐdǎqiáng ㄍㄨㄟˇ ㄉㄚˇ ㄑㄧㄤˊ

    • to go round in circles
    • to have obstacles secretly put in one's path

Character by character

Saying俗语俗語

Idiom惯用语 · In everyday use

Literally
ghost hits a wall
Meaning
In folk belief, a ghost builds a wall that makes a night traveller walk in circles and never find the way. Now used for being stuck going round in circles, or for someone secretly putting obstacles in your path.

Sources