| 勉强 | miǎn qiǎng | to do with difficulty / to force sb to do sth / reluctant / barely enough |   |
| 恋恋 | liàn liàn | reluctant (to leave, to let go etc) | |
| 不舍 | bù shè | reluctant to part with (sth or sb) / unwilling to let go of | |
| 不舍 | bù shě | reluctant to part with (sth or sb) / unwilling to let go of | |
| 留恋 | liú liàn | reluctant to leave / to hate to have to go / to recall fondly | |
| 依依 | yī yī | to regret leaving / reluctant to part / (onom.) young leaves stir gently in the wind | |
| 依依不舍 | yī yī bù shě | reluctant to part (idiom) / broken-hearted at having to leave | |
| 流连 | liú lián | to loiter (i.e. reluctant to leave) / to linger on | |
| 手软 | shǒu ruǎn | to be lenient / to relent / to be reluctant to make a hard decision / to think twice | |
| 鸡肋 | jī lèi | chicken ribs / sth of little value or interest / sth of dubious worth that one is reluctant to give up / to be physically weak | |
| 恋恋不舍 | liàn liàn bù shě | reluctant to part | |
| 贪恋 | tān liàn | to cling to / to be reluctant to give up (sth) / to have a fondness for (an indulgence etc) | |
| 嘴硬 | zuǐ yìng | reluctant to admit a mistake | |
| 惜别 | xī bié | reluctant to part | |
| 三缄其口 | sān jiān qí kǒu | (idiom) reluctant to speak about it / tight-lipped | |
| 恋栈 | liàn zhàn | to be reluctant to give up a post | |
| 老马恋栈 | lǎo mǎ liàn zhàn | lit. the old horse loves his stable / fig. sb old but reluctant to relinquish their post (idiom) | |
| 驽马恋栈 | nú mǎ liàn zhàn | lit. a worn-out horse is reluctant to leave the stable (idiom) / fig. a mediocre worker clings to a good position | |
| 食之无味，弃之可惜 | shí zhī wú wèi , qì zhī kě xī | lit. to be hardly worth eating, but it would still be a pity to discard it (idiom) / fig. some things have little to no value, yet one is still reluctant to part with them | |
