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掉队 (diào duì) — to fall behind; to drop out (of a group, team, or competition)

Definition

掉队 means to fall behind or drop out of a group (a march, a team, a class). It's more vivid and group-specific than 落后, which describes being behind in competition, technology, or development.

verb
to fall behindto drop out (of a group, team, or competition)

Examples

  • 。
    Tā yīn wèi shòu shāng ér diào le duì.
    He fell behind because of an injury.
  • ，掉队。
    Xué xí shàng rú guǒ sōng xiè, hěn róng yì diào duì.
    If you slack off in your studies, it's easy to fall behind.
  • 掉队。
    Zhè cì xíng jūn méi yǒu rén diào duì.
    No one fell behind during this march.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

掉diàodrop/fall
队duìteam/group

“掉” suggests dropping or falling away, and “队” is the group one should stay with; together they mean falling behind or leaving a group.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
卓
卓zhuó掉diào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

掉 is built from 扌 (a hand) and 卓, which gives the pronunciation.

Open 掉 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 隊; 队 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
㒸
㒸㒸隊duì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 隊 has 阜 as the meaning part and 㒸 as the sound part.

Open 队 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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