脚踏两条船 in English jiao3 ta4 liang3 tiao2 chuan2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) to stand with each foot in a different boat (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically to have it both ways
  • to run after two hares
  • (especially) to have two lovers at the same time

Simplified Characters

脚 踏 两 条 船

Traditional Characters

腳 踏 兩 條 船

Pinyin

jiao3 ta4 liang3 tiao2 chuan2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

脚jiao3foot 踏ta4see 踏實|踏实[ta1 shi5] 两liang3two 条tiao2strip 船chuan2variant of 船[chuan2]