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HSK 3

退

to retreat; to return (something); to refund

verbneutral
退
tuì4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
tuì
Part of speech
verb
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
9
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 退

退 is written with 9 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 退 mean?

退 (tuì) covers a family of meanings English splits across several verbs: 'to retreat,' 'to step back,' 'to return (an item to a store),' 'to get a refund,' 'to withdraw from (a group/event),' and 'to fade.'

The common thread is reversing forward motion or undoing a commitment. In daily life learners meet it most as 退货 (return goods) and 退钱 (refund money) — what you do after buying something that doesn't fit. The character also lives inside many HSK 3-4 compounds: 退休 (retire), 退步 (regress), 退后 (step back).

Direction-of-motion compounds with 退 are very productive: 后退 (back up), 撤退 (retreat militarily). One trap: 退 alone is rarely used as a standalone verb in spoken Chinese — pair it with another character or with an object.

Example sentences

这件衣服太大了，我想退一下。

Zhè jiàn yīfu tài dà le, wǒ xiǎng tuì yíxià.

This shirt is too big; I'd like to return it.

spoken

你可以退钱吗？

Nǐ kěyǐ tuì qián ma?

Can you give me a refund?

spoken

请大家退后一点，谢谢。

Qǐng dàjiā tuìhòu yìdiǎn, xièxie.

Please step back a bit, everyone — thank you.

polite, public-facing

我爸爸明年就退休了。

Wǒ bàba míngnián jiù tuìxiū le.

My dad is going to retire next year.

neutral

Common phrases with 退

退货tuìhuòto return goods
退钱tuì qiánto refund money
退后tuìhòuto step back
退休tuìxiūto retire (from work)
退一步tuì yí bùto take a step back; (idiomatically) to compromise

Synonyms

还huán

还 means 'to return (something you borrowed),' typically to a person. 退 is closer to 'to return (something you bought) to a store / institution' for a refund or exchange. 还书 = return a library book; 退货 = return a purchase.

撤chè

撤 is more formal / military ('withdraw, retract'). 退 is the everyday verb. A general 撤兵 (withdraws troops); a customer 退货 (returns goods).

Don't confuse 退 with

腿tuǐ

退 (tuì, 4th tone) = to retreat / return. 腿 (tuǐ, 3rd tone) = leg. Same initial, different tone, different meaning — a classic HSK 3 tone-pair trap.

推tuī

推 (tuī, 1st tone) = to push. 退 = to retreat (opposite motion). Push out vs pull back.

还huán / hái

还 has two readings: huán (return something) overlaps with 退 in 'return' sense; hái (still, also) is a different word entirely. 退 has only one reading.

FAQ

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