退税 (tuì shuì) — to get a tax refund; to claim a tax rebate

Definition

To get money back that you overpaid in tax, usually when leaving a country. 退还 means to return borrowed goods or refund a payment, not reclaim tax.

verb

to get a tax refundto claim a tax rebate

Examples

退税。
Wǒ zài jī chǎng bàn lǐ le tuì shuì shǒu xù.
I handled the tax refund procedures at the airport.
。
Qù nián wǒ tuì le yì bǐ bù xiǎo de shuì.
Last year I got a fairly large tax refund.
退税。
Chū guó lǚ yóu bié wàng le shēn qǐng tuì shuì.
Don't forget to apply for a tax refund when traveling abroad.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

退tuìreturn

税shuìtax

退 means return and 税 means tax, so the word names returning tax.

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

禾兑税

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hé

Sound part声符shēngfú

兑

兑duì税shuì

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

税 pairs 禾, a grain plant, with 兑, which gives the character its sound.

Open 税 →

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