却 què — but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline
他想说什么，却又停住了。Tā xiǎng shuō shén me, què yòu tíng zhù le.He wanted to say something, but then stopped.
Common words: 冷却 (lěng què)、却是 (què shì)、退却 (tuì què)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to decline"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to decline", including 却 (què), 退 (tuì). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to decline" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 却 (què), 退 (tuì) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span què, tuì — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 却 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 却 quèbut; yet; however; while; to go back; to declineUseful words: 冷却, 却是
- 退 tuìretreat; to decline; to move back; to withdrawUseful words: 退出, 退休
Common words for these 2 "to decline" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 却 (què) — so "to decline" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
冷却lěng què(lit. and fig.) to cool却是què shìnevertheless; actually; the fact is ...退却tuì quèto retreat; to shrink back退出tuì chūto withdraw; to abort; to quit; to log out (computing)退休tuì xiūto retire (from the workforce); to go into retirement退步tuì bùto do less well than before; to make a concession; setback; backward step
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "to decline".
退 tuì — retreat; to decline; to move back; to withdraw
这件衣服太小了，我想退货。Zhè jiàn yī fu tài xiǎo le, wǒ xiǎng tuì huò.This piece of clothing is too small; I want to return it.
Common words: 退出 (tuì chū)、退休 (tuì xiū)、退步 (tuì bù)
All 2 characters
Open 却、退 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.