每天成语
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打退堂鼓

*The explanations on this page are generated by AI. Please note that they may contain inaccurate information.

1. Basic Information

  • Pinyin: dǎ tuì táng gǔ
  • English Translation: To beat the retreat drum (to back out; to get cold feet)
  • Idiom Composition: 「打」（To strike, beat, or hit (a drum)）＋「退堂」（To adjourn court; for an official to withdraw from the public hall）＋「鼓」（A drum）
  • Meaning: Originally referring to the drum sounded when ancient government officials adjourned court and retreated to their private chambers, this idiom metaphorically describes getting cold feet, shrinking back from a task when encountering difficulties, or backing out of a commitment halfway through. It often carries a critical tone or serves as an admonition against giving up.

2. Detailed Meaning and Nuances

「打退堂鼓」 contains the following nuances:

  • Midway Retreat rather than Upfront Refusal: Rather than declining an opportunity at the very beginning, this phrase specifically describes embarking on an endeavor and subsequently retreating or abandoning it along the way.
  • Intimidation by Hardship and Lack of Resolve: It does not imply a neutral or strategic change of plans; rather, it reflects being overwhelmed by difficulty, losing nerve, and looking for an easy escape.
  • Cautionary and Exhortative Tone: The idiom is frequently paired with negative imperatives such as 别打退堂鼓 (bié dǎ tuì táng gǔ, 'don't back down'), functioning as an exhortation to persevere or a critique of someone's lack of grit.

3. Usage

「打退堂鼓」 is mainly used in the following contexts:

  • Flinching under work or project challenges: Used to point out or warn against the urge to give up when confronted by operational difficulties or heavy workloads.
    • Example:「项目刚遇到一点阻力，大家千万不能打退堂鼓。」
      （The project has only hit a minor snag, so nobody should back out now.)
  • Getting cold feet when taking on hard challenges: Used when describing the hesitation or impulse to quit studying or training under intense pressure.
    • Example:「看到厚厚的一摞教材，他心里不免打起了退堂鼓。」
      （Seeing the massive stack of textbooks, he could not help but get cold feet.)
  • Withdrawing from a partnership or collective venture: Used to describe pulling out of a joint business or collaborative endeavor out of fear of risk or hardship.
    • Example:「创业初期条件艰苦，但合伙人并没有打退堂鼓。」
      （Conditions were tough during the startup's early days, but the business partner never pulled out.)

Additional Examples:

  1. 既然已经迈出了第一步，就不能轻易打退堂鼓。
    （Since we have already taken the first step, we cannot easily throw in the towel.）
  2. 面对严酷的训练，有几个新队员心里开始打退堂鼓了。
    （Faced with grueling training, a few new team members started to have second thoughts.）
  3. 别打退堂鼓，坚持到最后才能看到成果。
    （Don't give up halfway; you will only see results if you stick it out to the end.）
  4. 他一听说要当众发言，立刻打起了退堂鼓。
    （The moment he heard he had to speak in public, he immediately backed out.）

4. Cultural Background and Notes

  • Origin: In imperial China, an official magistrate's hall featured drums to herald the start and close of legal proceedings. Striking the drum at the end of the session—known as 打退堂鼓 (dǎ tuì táng gǔ)—signaled that the court was dismissed and the magistrate was retiring to his quarters. Over time, the phrase shifted from literally ending the workday to figuratively beating a retreat or quitting an endeavor halfway through, as seen in classical Yuan dynasty theater such as Guan Hanqing (关汉卿)'s play The Injustice to Dou E (窦娥冤).
  • Grammatical Flexibility: Because 打退堂鼓 functions as a verb-object phrase, it is often split in colloquial speech. Learners will frequently encounter separable forms such as 打起了退堂鼓 (dǎ qǐ le tuì táng gǔ, 'began to get cold feet') or rhetorical expressions like 打什么退堂鼓？ (dǎ shénme tuì táng gǔ?, 'Why are you backing out?').

5. Similar and Opposite Idioms

6. Summary

Originating from the drum beat that signaled the adjournment of ancient courtroom trials, 打退堂鼓 (dǎ tuì táng gǔ) vividly depicts backing out or abandoning an endeavor midway due to fear or hardship. Commonly used across everyday conversation and professional settings, it frequently appears in negative or encouraging statements such as 不要打退堂鼓 (bù yào dǎ tuì táng gǔ, 'don't give up / don't back out').

Featured in the Chuken exam (Japan's Chinese test)Pre-Level 1

Idiom Essay

dǎ tuì táng gǔ
打退堂鼓
Backpedaling
qù nián去年xià tiān夏天，wǒ men我们wǔ gè五个péng yǒu朋友zài在yī jiā一家shāo kǎo烧烤diàn店lǐ里zuò做le了yí gè一个jué dìng决定：guó qìng jié国庆节qù去pá爬tài shān泰山，yè lǐ夜里chū fā出发，zài在shān dǐng山顶kàn看rì chū日出。

Last summer, five of us friends made a decision at a barbecue restaurant: we would climb Mount Tai during the National Day holiday, set off at night, and watch the sunrise from the summit.

nà tiān那天wǎn shàng晚上dà jiā大家dōu都tè bié特别xīng fèn兴奋，yǒu rén有人mǎ shàng马上chá查tiān qì天气，yǒu rén有人shuō说yào要mǎi买yī shuāng一双xīn新de的dēng shān xié登山鞋，hái yǒu还有rén人jiàn建le了yí gè一个qún群，qún群míng jiào名叫“shān dǐng山顶jiàn见”。

That evening, everyone was especially excited. One person immediately checked the weather, another said they needed to buy a new pair of hiking shoes, and someone else created a group chat called “See You at the Summit.”

lí离chū fā出发hái yǒu还有yí gè yuè一个月de的shí hòu时候，qún群lǐ里měi tiān每天dōu都hěn很rè nào热闹。

With a month to go before departure, the group chat was lively every day.

hái还shèng剩liǎng gè两个xīng qī星期，xiāo xī消息kāi shǐ开始biàn变shǎo少。

With two weeks left, the messages began to dwindle.

hái还shèng剩yí gè一个xīng qī星期，yí gè一个péng yǒu朋友fā发le了yī jù一句：“wǒ我zuì jìn最近xī gài膝盖yǒu diǎn有点bù shū fú不舒服，nǐ men你们shuō说，yè lǐ夜里pá shān爬山huì bú huì会不会tài太lèi累？”

With one week left, a friend wrote, “My knees have been feeling a little uncomfortable lately. Do you think climbing at night might be too tiring?”

guò过le了liǎng tiān两天，lìng另yí gè一个péng yǒu朋友shuō说，gōng sī公司kě néng可能yào要jiā bān加班。

Two days later, another friend said that the company might require overtime.

wǒ我kàn看zhe着shǒu jī手机，xīn lǐ心里hěn很qīng chǔ清楚：dà jiā大家kāi shǐ开始dǎ tuì táng gǔ打退堂鼓le了。

Looking at my phone, I knew very well what was happening: everyone was beginning to back out.

“dǎ tuì táng gǔ打退堂鼓”de的yì si意思shì是，běn lái本来dā yìng答应yào要zuò做、huò zhě或者yǐ jīng已经kāi shǐ开始zuò做de的shì qíng事情，yīn wèi因为pà怕nán难、pà怕lèi累、pà怕má fán麻烦，xiǎng yào想要zhōng tú中途fàng qì放弃。

“打退堂鼓” means wanting to give up halfway on something you had agreed to do or had already started because you are afraid it will be difficult, tiring, or troublesome.

“tuì táng退堂”yuán lái原来zhǐ指gǔ dài古代de的guān yuán官员shěn审wán完àn zi案子，lí kāi离开dà táng大堂。

“退堂” originally referred to officials in ancient China leaving the courtroom after finishing a case.

nà ge那个shí hòu时候，tuì táng退堂yào要qiāo gǔ敲鼓。

At that time, a drum was beaten when they left the courtroom.

suǒ yǐ所以“dǎ tuì táng gǔ打退堂鼓”，jiù就xiàng像shì是gěi给zì jǐ自己de的lí kāi离开qiāo敲yí gè一个xìn hào信号。

So “打退堂鼓” is like beating a signal to announce your own departure.

shuō说bié rén别人dǎ tuì táng gǔ打退堂鼓，duō shǎo多少dài带yì diǎn一点pī píng批评de的wèi dào味道；shuō说zì jǐ自己dǎ tuì táng gǔ打退堂鼓，cháng cháng常常shì是yī zhǒng一种zì cháo自嘲。

When you say that someone else is “打退堂鼓,” it carries a slight tone of criticism; when you say it about yourself, it is often a form of self-mockery.

yǒu yì si有意思de的shì是，zhè这miàn面gǔ鼓wǎng wǎng往往bú shì不是yī xià zi一下子qiāo xiǎng敲响de的。

Interestingly, this drum is usually not struck all at once.

hěn shǎo很少yǒu rén有人zhí jiē直接shuō说“wǒ我bù不qù去le了”。

Very few people directly say, “I’m not going.”

dà jiā大家xiān先shuō说xī gài膝盖，zài shuō再说jiā bān加班，zài shuō再说tiān qì yù bào天气预报hǎo xiàng好像yǒu有yǔ雨。

First, people mention their knees, then overtime, and then the weather forecast, which seems to say it will rain.

gǔ shēng鼓声hěn很xiǎo小，yī xià一下yī xià一下，hǎo xiàng好像zài在shì tàn试探bié rén别人de的fǎn yìng反应。

The drumbeat is very soft, one beat at a time, as if testing everyone else’s reaction.

shuō shí huà说实话，wǒ我zì jǐ自己xīn lǐ心里yě也zài在dǎ tuì táng gǔ打退堂鼓。

To be honest, I was also having second thoughts.

wǒ我yǐ jīng已经hǎo jǐ nián好几年méi没yùn dòng运动le了，yī一xiǎng dào想到yào要zǒu走jǐ gè几个xiǎo shí小时de的tái jiē台阶，tuǐ腿jiù就yǒu diǎn有点ruǎn软。

I had not exercised for several years, and just thinking about walking up steps for several hours made my legs feel weak.

kě shì可是wǒ我bù不gǎn敢shuō说。

But I did not dare say so.

yīn wèi因为wǒ我fā xiàn发现，dà jiā大家qí shí其实dōu都zài在děng等，děng等yí gè一个rén人xiān先shuō说“yào要bù suàn不算le了ba吧”。

Because I realized that everyone was actually waiting for someone to say first, “How about we just forget it?”

zhǐ yào只要yǒu rén有人dì yí gè第一个kāi kǒu开口，shèng xià剩下de的rén人jiù就kě yǐ可以hěn很qīng sōng轻松dì地gēn shàng跟上。

As soon as one person speaks up first, the others can easily follow.

zuì hòu最后xiān先kāi kǒu开口de的，shì是nà ge那个jiàn qún建群de的péng yǒu朋友。

In the end, the first to speak was the friend who had created the group chat.

tā他shuō说：“yào要bù不zán men咱们gǎi chéng改成qù去jiāo qū郊区chī吃nóng jiā农家cài菜ba吧？”

He said, “How about we change the plan and go to the suburbs for a farmhouse meal instead?”

yì fēn zhōng一分钟zhī nèi之内，qún群lǐ里lái来le了sì gè四个“hǎo好”。

Within a minute, four “Sounds good” messages appeared in the group chat.

guó qìng jié国庆节nà tiān那天，wǒ men我们zuò坐zài在jiāo qū郊区yí gè一个nóng jiā农家xiǎo yuàn小院lǐ里chī吃yú鱼，shuí谁yě也méi没tí提tài shān泰山。

On the day of the National Day holiday, we sat in a farmhouse courtyard in the suburbs eating fish, and no one mentioned Mount Tai.

zhǐ yǒu只有nà ge那个qún群hái还zài在，míng zì名字yì zhí一直méi没gǎi改，hái还jiào叫“shān dǐng jiàn山顶见”。

Only the group chat remained. Its name was never changed; it was still called “See You at the Summit.”

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