讨巧 (tǎo qiǎo) — to seek an easy way out; to get something by cutting corners or using clever but not entirely honest means

Definition

讨巧 means taking a shortcut or doing something the clever-but-not-quite-honest way to save effort. It is also used as an adjective (讨巧的做法 'a shortcut method') to describe such an approach.

verb
to seek an easy way outto get something by cutting corners or using clever but not entirely honest means

Examples

  • 讨巧，。
    Tā zǒng xiǎng tǎo qiǎo, jié guǒ bǎ shì qing gǎo zá le.
    He always wants to take the easy way out, and in the end he messes things up.
  • 讨巧，。
    Zhè jiàn shì bù néng tǎo qiǎo, bì xū yí bù yí bù lái.
    You can't cut corners on this — you have to do it step by step.
  • ，。
    Tā tǎo le gè qiǎo, yòng jiù cái liào wán chéng le rèn wu.
    He pulled a clever shortcut by using old materials to finish the task.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

讨tǎoseek
巧qiǎocleverness

“讨” seek and “巧” cleverness or an easy way combine to mean seeking an easy clever result.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 討; 讨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
肘
肘zhǒu討tǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 討 pairs 言 (speech) with a shortened form of 肘 for sound; an old reading took 言 plus 寸 (hand) as 'rectify'. The simplified 讨 is a shorthand, so its parts are not historical components.

Open 讨 →

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
工工gōng
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo巧qiǎo
Same sound today

巧 is made of 工 and 丂; 工 points to its meaning, and 丂 points to its sound.

Open 巧 →

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