首鼠兩端

Chinese

		to hesitate	both; two; some both; two; some; a few; tael	end; extremity; item end; extremity; item; port; to hold something level with both hands; to carry; regular
trad. (首鼠兩端)		首鼠	兩	端
simp. (首鼠两端)		首鼠	两	端

Etymology

From Shiji（《史記·魏其武安侯列傳》）:

武安已罷朝，出止車門，召韓御史大夫載，怒曰：“與長孺共一老禿翁，何為首鼠兩端？” [Classical Chinese, trad.]
武安已罢朝，出止车门，召韩御史大夫载，怒曰：“与长孺共一老秃翁，何为首鼠两端？” [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

Wǔ'ān yǐ bàcháo, chū zhǐ chēmén, zhào Hán yùshǐdàfū zǎi, nù yuē: “Yǔ Chángrú gòng yī lǎo tū wēng, héwéi shǒushǔliǎngduān?” [Pinyin]

When the court session was over the Marquis of Wu’an left the palace and went to the gate where the carriages were drawn up. Calling to the imperial secretary Han Anguo to join him in his carriage, he began to berate him angrily. “You, Changru, and I together are pitted against a single, bald-headed old man [namely Dou Ying]! Why did you behave so timid in expressing your opinion, like a rat turning its head towards two directions at once?”

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): shǒushǔliǎngduān

(Zhuyin): ㄕㄡˇ ㄕㄨˇ ㄌㄧㄤˇ ㄉㄨㄢ
Cantonese (Jyutping): sau² syu² loeng⁵ dyun¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: shǒushǔliǎngduān [Phonetic: shóushúliǎngduān]
  - Zhuyin: ㄕㄡˇ ㄕㄨˇ ㄌㄧㄤˇ ㄉㄨㄢ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: shǒushǔliǎngduan
  - Wade–Giles: shou³-shu³-liang³-tuan¹
  - Yale: shǒu-shǔ-lyǎng-dwān
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shooushuuleangduan
  - Palladius: шоушуляндуань (šoušuljanduanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂu²¹⁴⁻³⁵ li̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ tu̯än⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong–Macau)⁺
  - Jyutping: sau² syu² loeng⁵ dyun¹
  - Yale: sáu syú léuhng dyūn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: sau² sy² loeng⁵ dyn¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: seo² xu² lêng⁵ dün¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐu̯³⁵ syː³⁵ lœːŋ¹³ tyːn⁵⁵/

Middle Chinese: syuwH syoX ljangX twan

Rime
Character	首	鼠	兩	端
Reading #	2/2	1/1	1/2	1/1
Initial (聲)	書 (26)	書 (26)	來 (37)	端 (5)
Final (韻)	尤 (136)	魚 (22)	陽 (105)	桓 (62)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)	Rising (X)	Rising (X)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Open	Closed
Division (等)	III	III	III	I
Fanqie	舒救切	舒吕切	良㢡切	多官切
Baxter	syuwH	syoX	ljangX	twan
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɕɨu^H/	/ɕɨʌ^X/	/lɨɐŋ^X/	/tuɑn/
Pan Wuyun	/ɕiu^H/	/ɕiɔ^X/	/liɐŋ^X/	/tʷɑn/
Shao Rongfen	/ɕiəu^H/	/ɕiɔ^X/	/liɑŋ^X/	/tuɑn/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɕuw^H/	/ɕɨə̆^X/	/lɨaŋ^X/	/twan/
Li Rong	/ɕiu^H/	/ɕiɔ^X/	/liaŋ^X/	/tuɑn/
Wang Li	/ɕĭəu^H/	/ɕĭo^X/	/lĭaŋ^X/	/tuɑn/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ɕi̯ə̯u^H/	/ɕi̯wo^X/	/li̯aŋ^X/	/tuɑn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shòu	shǔ	liǎng	duān
Expected Cantonese Reflex	sau³	syu²	loeng⁵	dyun¹

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*l̥uʔ-s [l̥]aʔ p.raŋʔ tˤor/

(Zhengzhang): /*hljus hljaʔ raŋʔ toːn/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	首	鼠	兩	端
Reading #	2/2	1/1	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	shǒu	shǔ	liǎng	duān
Middle Chinese	‹ syuw^H ›	‹ syo^X ›	‹ ljang^X ›	‹ twan ›
Old Chinese	/*l̥uʔ-s/	/*[l̥]aʔ/	/*p.raŋʔ/	/*tˁor/
English	turn the head towards	rat	a pair	tip (n.)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	首	鼠	兩	端
Reading #	2/2	1/1	1/2	1/1
No.	11672	11801	8054	2500
Phonetic component	首	鼠	兩	耑
Rime group	幽	魚	陽	元
Rime subdivision	1	0	0	3
Corresponding MC rime	狩			端
Old Chinese	/*hljus/	/*hljaʔ/	/*raŋʔ/	/*toːn/

Idiom

首鼠兩端

to be hesitant or indecisive

Synonyms

首施兩端／首施两端 (shǒushīliǎngduān)
首尾兩端／首尾两端 (shǒuwěiliǎngduān)