推脱 (tuī tuō) — to evade, to shirk (responsibility, duty)

Definition

verb

to evadeto shirk (responsibility, duty)

Easily confused

推脱。
Tā zǒng shì xiǎng bàn fǎ tuī tuō zé rèn.
He always finds ways to shirk responsibility.
，推脱。
Miàn duì zhè ge wèn tí, tā shì tú tuī tuō.
Facing this question, he tried to evade it.
推脱。
Nǐ bù néng tuī tuō zì jǐ de yì wù.
You cannot shirk your own obligations.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

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

推tuīpush away

推 and 脱 both express pushing away or escaping, so together they mean to evade responsibility.

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.

扌隹推

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

隹

隹zhuī推tuī

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 扌 is a hand, and the right side 隹 gives the sound; the character shows pushing with the hand.

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 脫; 脱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

⺼Written in full as肉ròu

Sound part声符shēngfú

兌

兌duì脫tuō

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 脫 puts ⺼ (meat) beside 兌, which gives the sound; the simplified 脱 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical pieces.