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说辞 (shuō cí) — excuse, pretext; arguments (for persuasion)

Definition

A noun for the 'excuse or line of argument' someone uses to justify or defend themselves — a single word covering both the pretext and the persuasive reasoning behind it. Often appears in 不要找说辞 ('don't make excuses').

noun
excusepretextarguments (for persuasion)

Examples

  • 说辞。
    Tā wèi zì jǐ chí dào de shuō cí biān dé bú gòu hǎo.
    The excuse he made for being late wasn't good enough.
  • 说辞，。
    Tā de shuō cí tīng qǐ lái hěn yǒu dào lǐ, dàn dà jiā dōu bù xiāng xìn.
    Her arguments sounded reasonable, but nobody believed them.
  • 说辞，。
    Bú yào zhǎo shuō cí, zhí jiē shuō chū zhēn xiàng ba.
    Don't make excuses, just tell the truth.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

说shuōspeak; argument
辞cíwords; speech

说 and 辞 both concern speech, together giving an argument or pretext.

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 說; 说 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
兌
兌duì說shuō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 說 pairs 言 (meaning) with 兌 (sound); the simplified 说 is not the form described here.

Open 说 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 辞 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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