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倒退 (dào tuì) — to fall back, to go backward; (of a vehicle) to reverse

Definition

倒退 (dào tuì) means 'to go backward / fall back' — physical reverse motion or figurative regression. Broader than 倒车 (only vehicles) and 后退 (physical steps); also covers decline, like 回落 used for prices.

verb
to fall backto go backward(of a vehicle) to reverse

Examples

  • 倒退，。
    Lì shǐ bù dào tuì, zhī huì qián jìn.
    History does not regress, it only moves forward.
  • 倒退。
    Sī jī bǎ chē dào tuì le liǎng mǐ.
    The driver reversed the car two meters.
  • ，倒退。
    Yù dào kùn nan shí, bú yào dào tuì.
    When encountering difficulties, don't fall back.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

倒dǎoreverse
退tuìretreat

倒 and 退 both express going backward, so 倒退 means to fall back or reverse.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
到
到dào倒dào
Same sound today

倒 combines 亻 (person) with 到, which gives the sound.

Open 倒 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 皀皀jífood vessel
  • 夊夊suīdownward foot

退 originally showed 皀, a food vessel, with 夊, a downward foot, for leaving the table after eating. In modern 退, the vessel part 皀 changed into an unrelated shape.

Open 退 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Change & Process

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