| 临阵退缩 |
lín zhèn tuì suō |
to shrink back as the time for battle approaches (idiom) / to get cold feet |
| 临 |
lín |
to face / to overlook / to arrive / to be (just) about to / just before |
| 临阵 |
lín zhèn |
just before the battle / to approach the front line |
| 阵 |
zhèn |
disposition of troops / wave / spate / burst / spell / short period of time / classifier for events or states of short duration |
| 退 |
tuì |
to retreat; to withdraw / to reject; to return (sth) / to decline |
| 退缩 |
tuì suō |
to shrink back; to cower |
| 缩 |
suō |
to withdraw / to pull back / to contract / to shrink / to reduce / abbreviation / also pr. [su4] |