推辞 (tuī cí) — to politely decline (an appointment, invitation…

Definition

推辞 (tuī cí) means to politely decline an offer, invitation, or appointment. It is softer and more euphemistic than 谢绝, which is a firmer 'refuse.'

verb

to politely decline (an appointment, invitation, offer, etc.)

，推辞。
Tā zài sān yāo qǐng, wǒ què bù dé bù tuī cí.
She invited me repeatedly, but I had to decline.
，推辞。
Miàn duì zhè ge gāo xīn zhí wèi, tā réng rán tuī cí le.
Faced with this high-paying position, he still declined it.
推辞，。
Wǒ bù xiǎng tuī cí nǐ de hǎo yì, dàn zhè cì zhēn de bù xíng.
I don't want to decline your kindness, but this time it's really not possible this time.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

推tuīpush away

推 (push away) and 辞 (refuse) combine to mean politely decline.

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in