







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”.

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Open the tool →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”.
进寸退尺 is pronounced jìn cùn tuì chǐ in Mandarin Chinese.
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”.
进一寸,退一尺。比喻得到的少,失掉的多。