chùn bước
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To hesitate, to falter, to shrink back: To show reluctance or lose courage when facing a challenge, obstacle, or difficulty, often resulting in a pause or retreat from action.
- To flinch, to balk: To draw back from something due to fear, apprehension, or a lack of resolve.
Usage Examples
- Verb phrase:
- Trước mọi thử thách, cô ấy không bao giờ chùn bước. (In the face of every challenge, she never hesitates/falters.)
- Đừng chùn bước trước những lời chỉ trích vô căn cứ. (Don't shrink back from baseless criticism.)
- Nhiều người đã chùn bước khi biết đến độ khó của dự án. (Many people balked when they learned about the project's difficulty.)
Advanced Usage
"không chùn bước": to not falter, to be undaunted.
- Với quyết tâm cao, đội tuyển thi đấu không chùn bước. (With high determination, the competing team did not falter.)
"làm ai đó chùn bước": to make someone hesitate, to daunt someone.
- Những khó khăn ban đầu đã làm nhiều ứng viên chùn bước. (The initial difficulties daunted many candidates.)
Variants and Related Words
- Chùn (verb): to shrink, to recoil, to contract. Often used in combination to form phrases like "chùn bước" (to shrink step), "chùn tay" (to hesitate in action), "chùn chân" (to hesitate to proceed).
- Ngần ngại (verb): to hesitate, to be reluctant. A close synonym often used interchangeably.
- Nản lòng (verb phrase): to become discouraged, to lose heart. Describes a similar loss of motivation but is more about internal spirit than physical or metaphorical stepping back.
- Thối chí (verb phrase): to be disheartened, to give up. A stronger term implying a loss of will or ambition.
Synonyms
- Do dự: to hesitate, to waver.
- Lưỡng lự: to be indecisive, to vacillate.
- Rụt rè: to be timid, to be shy (often implies a general character trait rather than a specific reaction).
Related Phrases
Chùn tay: to hesitate to act (literally: to shrink one's hand).
- Thấy tình hình phức tạp, hắn ta chùn tay không dám ký hợp đồng. (Seeing the complicated situation, he hesitated and didn't dare sign the contract.)
Chùn chân: to hesitate to go forward (literally: to shrink one's foot/leg).
- Nghe tin đường xa, cô ấy chùn chân không muốn đi nữa. (Hearing the road was long, she hesitated and didn't want to go anymore.)
Related Idioms
- "Đầu hàng trước khó khăn": to surrender to difficulties. This is a stronger, more definitive outcome than "chùn bước," which often describes the moment of hesitation.
- "Không nao núng": to be unshaken, to stand firm. This is the direct opposite state of "chùn bước."