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进寸退尺
进寸退尺
进寸退尺
进寸退尺
进寸退尺
进寸退尺
进寸退尺
进寸退尺

进寸退尺 — “Advance an inch, retreat a foot”

进寸退尺 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to gain a small advantage or make slight progress while suffering a much greater loss; to make little headway while suffering significant setbacks”. Literally, “Advance an inch, retreat a foot”.

Frequency

进寸退尺 Pronunciation and Pinyin

进寸退尺 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order
CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
进
jìn7advance, enter, eat, or receive
寸
cùn3Chinese inch unit
退
tuì10retreat, withdraw, decline
尺
chǐ4traditional Chinese foot unit

Example Sentence with 进寸退尺

这项投资计划如果操作不慎,可能会进寸退尺,得不偿失。
If this investment plan is not handled carefully, it could be a case of advancing an inch and retreating a foot, resulting in more losses than gains.

Idioms Related to 进寸退尺

Synonyms of 进寸退尺

  • dé得bù不cháng偿shī失the losses outweigh the gains

Antonyms of 进寸退尺

  • dé得cùn寸jìn进chǐ尺insatiably greedy

More idioms starting with 进

  • jìn进rén人ruò若jiāng将jiā加zhū诸xī膝,,tuì退rén人ruò若jiāng将zhuì坠zhū诸yuān渊Elevate favorites, cast down dislikes
  • jìn进fǔ俯tuì退fǔ俯inconsistent movement or posture
  • jìn进lì利chú除hài害promote good, eliminate harm
  • jìn进kě可yǐ以gōng攻,,jù据kě可yǐ以shǒu守strategic flexibility in offense and defense
  • jìn进kě可yǐ以gōng攻,,tuì退kě可yǐ以shǒu守flexible in offense and defense
  • jìn进kě可tì替bù不offer good strategies to eliminate flawed practices
  • jìn进kě可tì替fǒu否Advance good to replace bad
  • jìn进shàn善chéng惩jiān奸promote good, punish evil
  • jìn进shàn善chéng惩è恶promote good and punish evil
  • jìn进shàn善tuì退è恶promote good, dismiss evil
  • jìn进shàn善chù黜è恶promote good, dismiss evil
  • jìn进rǎng壤guǎng广dì地expand territory

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Questions about 进寸退尺

What does 进寸退尺 mean?

进寸退尺 (jìn cùn tuì chǐ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to gain a small advantage or make slight progress while suffering a much greater loss; to make little headway while suffering significant setbacks”.

How do you pronounce 进寸退尺?

进寸退尺 is pronounced jìn cùn tuì chǐ in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 进寸退尺 literally mean?

Literally, 进寸退尺 means “Advance an inch, retreat a foot”. It is used to mean “to gain a small advantage or make slight progress while suffering a much greater loss; to make little headway while suffering significant setbacks”.

What is the Chinese definition of 进寸退尺?

进一寸,退一尺。比喻得到的少,失掉的多。

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