“裹足不前”常见的英文表达有 “hesitate to move forward”、“hold back from progressing” 或 “be bogged down and make no advance” 。
“hesitate to move forward”：直接体现了因犹豫、顾虑而不敢向前推进的意思，与“裹足不前”中因某种原因而停滞不前的语义相符。例如：Don't hesitate to move forward just because of a few difficulties.（不要仅仅因为一些困难就裹足不前。）
“hold back from progressing”：强调阻碍、抑制前进，传达出无法顺利向前发展的状态。例如：Fear held him back from progressing in his career.（恐惧让他在事业上裹足不前。）
“be bogged down and make no advance”：形象地描绘出陷入困境、无法取得进展的情景，类似于“裹足不前”所表达的停滞状态。例如：The project was bogged down in bureaucratic red tape and made no advance.（这个项目被官僚主义的繁文缛节缠住，裹足不前。 ）