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I actually saw someone else ask this question today, and it kind of stumped me. I couldn't think of any very good ways to parse the phrase into chinese. So I became curious if there is a pre-existing phrase I've never encountered, or what would be a good way to convey this concept. I thought of 他把站姿交換不安了, which still doesn't actually convey shifting weight (and isn't very good in my opinion).

EDIT FOR CLARITY: I am aware of a few phrases like 坐立不安 or 忐忑不安 to convey a similar sentiment. I am more interested in how one would convey the literal movement of shifting weight from one foot/side of the body to the other (as one does when uneasy/uncomfortable). Sorry for the confusion.

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    Cannot think of one in Standard Mandarin, but in my dialect it’s called 站着左脚倒右脚, both the literal movements and uneasiness
    – lilysirius
    Commented Oct 28, 2022 at 9:15
  • You made me think of 硬曬舦, somehow it has the opposite literal meaning, but I can still imagine the "proper" movement and emotion.
    – zagrycha
    Commented Oct 28, 2022 at 9:48

3 Answers 3

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"shift your weight uneasily" is not an existing English saying, the literal translation would be:

不安地轉換站姿 - uneasily changing stance

不斷地改換站姿，顯得十分不安 - Constantly changing standing positions, appearing very uneasy

When you change a 站姿 (stance), your weight is also shifted

"shifting weight" can be reflected by "changing stance"。

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    To clarify, "shift your weight uneasily" is definitely an existing english phrase. It is even part of the definition of shift in the cambridge dictionary. I am marking your answer correct for helping clarify the chinese side.
    – zagrycha
    Commented Oct 28, 2022 at 9:19
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    When I said "English saying" I meant a common expression or idiom. "shift weight" is a common expression, describes one's action, but "shift weight uneasily' is basically an English phrase
    – Tang Ho ♦
    Commented Oct 28, 2022 at 17:59
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Perhaps 坐立不安 can convey this concept.

To say "shift the weight", we mostly use 转换重心 in Chinese. However, as far as I am concerned, the main focus in this phrase is "uneasily". In Chinese, there is an idiom called 坐立不安, which means "shifting between standing and sitting continually because one feels uneasy". This idiom may convey this concept properly, though it does not translates it directly.

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  • Do you know a good way to use 转换重心 to show that type of shift from side to side? My thoughts seeing it on its own is just 武俠 stories describing a character standing firm, or science texts.
    – zagrycha
    Commented Oct 28, 2022 at 9:00
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rock'n'roll: if you 'shift your weight' repeatedly, you rock!

她紧张地左右摇摆。
She rocked nervously back and forth.

(Rocking motions will cause the release of endorphins 内啡肽 and thus relieve the tension a little. Possibly, that's why we do it.)

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  • The term "rock'n' roll" is mostly refers to a kind of music-- 摇滾樂. and is mostly transliterated as 樂與怒(音樂)
    – Tang Ho ♦
    Commented Oct 29, 2022 at 2:49
  • "rock'n'roll"最初是性交的俚语。 大约在1954年，它也成为了一种音乐和舞蹈流派的名称。 美国圣经的狂热宣讲者希望禁止猫王，因为他的音乐和舞蹈被认为太性感了！ "rock'n'roll"也用来表示：“我印象深刻！”或“印象深刻。 "That rocks!"也表示“令人印象深刻！”或者“那太好了！” 当然，"rock'n'roll"这个短语也保持了它的字面意思，即节奏运动。 现在你猜猜看，我使用的"rock'n'roll"是什么意思呢？
    – Pedroski
    Commented Oct 29, 2022 at 23:52

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