一只脚踩在门槛儿上,不知进退 一隻腳踩在門檻兒上,不知進退 一隻腳踩在門檻兒上,不知進退

one foot on the threshold: not knowing whether to go in or back

Saying俗语俗語

Two-part saying歇后语歇後語 · Widely known

Meaning
Describes someone who speaks or acts rashly and has no sense of what is proper. Critical.
Wordplay
进退 (jìntuì) means both advancing and retreating and, figuratively, knowing what is proper in words and actions.
Simplified
一只脚踩在门槛儿上,不知进退
Traditional (Taiwan)
一隻腳踩在門檻兒上,不知進退
Pinyin
yìzhī jiǎo cǎi zài ménkǎn ér shàng, bùzhījìntuì
Bopomofo
ㄧˋ ㄓ ㄐㄧㄠˇ ㄘㄞˇ ㄗㄞˋ ㄇㄣˊ ㄎㄢˇ ㄦˊ ㄕㄤˋ,ㄅㄨˋ ㄓ ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄊㄨㄟˋ

Written with HSK 7-9 vocabulary, at CEFR level C1.

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