探头缩脑 tàn tóu suō nǎo to peek cautiously

Explanation

形容人胆小怕事，小心翼翼的样子。

Describes someone who is timid and cautious.

Origin Story

在一个阴森森的古堡里，住着一对胆小的兄妹。一天晚上，他们听到楼上传来奇怪的声音，吓得哥哥紧紧地抱着妹妹，探头缩脑地向楼上望去。他们小心翼翼地移动脚步，生怕惊扰了古堡里的神秘生物。他们探头缩脑地穿过长长的走廊，来到楼上，发现原来是一只调皮的小猫在玩耍。虚惊一场后，兄妹俩不禁互相拥抱，庆幸没有发生什么危险。从此以后，他们决定不再探头缩脑，勇敢地面对生活中的挑战。

zài yīgè yīnsēnsēn de gǔbǎo lǐ, zhù zhe yī duì dǎnxiǎo de xiōngmèi。yītiān wǎnshang, tāmen tīngdào lóushang chuán lái qíguài de shēngyīn, xià de gēge jǐnjǐn de bào zhe mèimei, tàn tóu suō nǎo de xiàng lóushang wàng qù。tāmen xiǎoxīn yìyì de yídòng jiǎobù, shēngpà jīngrǎo le gǔbǎo lǐ de shénmì shēngwù。tāmen tàn tóu suō nǎo de chuānguò chángcháng de lángcōng, lái dào lóushang, fāxiàn yuánlái shì yī zhī tiáopí de xiǎomāo zài wánshuǎ。xūjīng yī chǎng hòu, xiōngmèi liǎng bùjīn hùxiāng yōngbào, qìngxìng méiyǒu fāshēng shénme wēixiǎn。cóngcǐ yǐhòu, tāmen juédìng bù zài tàn tóu suō nǎo, yǒnggǎn de miànduì shēnghuó zhōng de tiǎozhàn。

In a creepy old castle, lived a pair of timid siblings. One night, they heard strange noises from upstairs, and the brother hugged his sister tightly, peering cautiously upwards. They moved carefully, afraid of disturbing the mysterious creatures in the castle. They crept cautiously through the long corridors, reached the upper floor, and discovered it was just a playful cat. After the scare, the siblings embraced each other, relieved that nothing dangerous had happened. From then on, they decided to stop being so timid and bravely face life's challenges.

Usage

用于形容人胆小怕事，小心翼翼的样子。

yòng yú xíngróng rén dǎn xiǎo pà shì, xiǎoxīn yìyì de yàngzi。

Used to describe someone who is timid and cautious.

Examples

• 他偷偷地探头缩脑地向外张望。

  tā tōutōu de tàn tóu suō nǎo de xiàng wài zhāngwàng。

  He peeked out cautiously.

• 看见老师来了，孩子们都探头缩脑的躲了起来。

  kànjiàn lǎoshī lái le, háizimen dōu tàn tóu suō nǎo de duǒ le qǐlái。

  When they saw the teacher coming, the children hid cautiously and timidly

Related Idioms

• 探头探脑

• 鬼鬼祟祟

Opposite Idioms

• 胆大妄为

• 无所畏惧