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撤退 (chè tuì) — to retreat, to withdraw, to pull back

Definition

撤退 (chè tuì) means to retreat or pull back, often used for military forces or organizations leaving a position or market. More formal and decisive than 后退 (general stepping back); stronger than 撤离, which focuses on evacuating people.

verb
to retreatto withdrawto pull back

Examples

  • ，撤退。
    Miàn duì qiáng dí, wǒ men zhǐ néng zàn shí chè tuì.
    Facing a strong enemy, we can only retreat temporarily.
  • 撤退。
    Gōng sī jué dìng cóng nà ge shì chǎng chè tuì.
    The company decided to withdraw from that market.
  • ，撤退。
    Bǐ sài hái méi jié shù, nǐ bù néng chè tuì.
    The game isn't over yet; you can't pull back.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

撤chèwithdraw
退tuìretreat

撤 and 退 both mean pulling back, so together they express a retreat.

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
徹
徹chè撤chè
Same sound today

撤 pairs 扌 (hand) with 徹, which gives the sound. The shape shows removing something by hand.

Open 撤 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Military & Defense5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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