| 挫折 | cuò zhé | setback / reverse / check / defeat / frustration / disappointment / to frustrate / to discourage / to set sb back / to blunt / to subdue |   |
| 退步 | tuì bù | to do less well than before / to make a concession / setback / backward step / leeway / room to maneuver / fallback | |
| 受挫 | shòu cuò | thwarted / obstructed / setback | |
| 挫败 | cuò bài | to thwart / to foil (sb's plans) / a setback / a failure / a defeat | |
| 岔子 | chà zi | branch road / setback / accident / hiccup | |
| 失风 | shī fēng | trouble / damage / setback / sth goes wrong | |
| 跟斗 | gēn dou | somersault / fall / tumble / (fig.) setback / failure | |
| 落马 | luò mǎ | (lit.) to fall from a horse / (fig.) to suffer a setback / to come a cropper / to be sacked (e.g. for corruption) | |
| 一蹶不振 | yī jué bù zhèn | one stumble, unable to rise (idiom) / a setback leading to total collapse / ruined at a stroke / unable to recover after a minor hitch | |
| 翻船 | fān chuán | to capsize / (fig.) to suffer a setback or defeat | |
| 重挫 | zhòng cuò | devastating setback / slump (in stock market etc) / crushing defeat / to cause a serious setback / to plummet | |
| 重整旗鼓 | chóng zhěng qí gǔ | lit. to reorganize flags and drums (idiom) / to regroup after a setback / to prepare for new initiatives / to attempt a comeback | |
| 摔跟头 | shuāi gēn tou | to fall / fig. to suffer a setback | |
| 破罐破摔 | pò guàn pò shuāi | lit. to smash a pot just because it has a crack (idiom) / fig. to give up altogether after a setback / to throw one's hands up in frustration and let it all go to hell | |
| 安史之乱 | An1 Shǐ zhī Luàn | An-Shi Rebellion (755-763) of 安祿山|安禄山[An1 Lu4 shan1] and 史思明[Shi3 Si1 ming2], a catastrophic setback for Tang dynasty | |
| 中箭落马 | zhòng jiàn luò mǎ | lit. to be struck by an arrow and fall from one's horse / to suffer a serious setback (idiom) | |
| 以失败而告终 | yǐ shī bài ér gào zhōng | to succeed through failure / to achieve one's final aim despite apparent setback | |
| 鼻青眼肿 | bí qīng yǎn zhǒng | a black eye (idiom) / serious injury to the face / fig. a setback / a defeat | |
| 大意失荆州 | dà yi shī Jīng zhōu | to lose Jingzhou due to carelessness (idiom) / to suffer a major setback due to negligence | |
