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退化 (tuì huà) — to degenerate, to atrophy

Definition

退 (tuì) is the natural, often biological 'regress / atrophy / degenerate' (organs, muscles, abilities, institutions). Unlike 腐朽 or 堕落, it implies a gradual functional decline, not moral corruption; unlike 萎缩, it is broader than physical shrinking.

verb
to degenerateto atrophy

Examples

  • 退化。
    Huán jìng è huà dǎo zhì mǒu xiē wù zhǒng de qì guān zhú jiàn tuì huà.
    Environmental degradation causes the organs of some species to gradually degenerate.
  • ，退化。
    Cháng qī bú duàn liàn, jī ròu huì màn màn tuì huà.
    If you don't exercise for a long time, your muscles will slowly atrophy.
  • ，退化。
    Yí gè gōng sī rú guǒ quē fá chuàng xīn, hěn kuài jiù huì tuì huà.
    A company that lacks innovation will soon degenerate.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

退tuìbackward
化huàbecome

退 means backward; 化 gives a sense of change, so the state becomes weaker.

Characters in this word

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 →

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

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

Open 化 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9BiologyChange & Process

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