丢弃

• Pinyin: diū qì
• Hanzi breakdown: 丢 = 一 + 去 (to lose); 弃 = 亡 + 廾 + 子 (to abandon — casting away a child, extended to discarding anything)

Meaning

To discard; to abandon; to throw away. To intentionally get rid of something that is no longer needed, wanted, or relevant.

Used for both physical objects and abstract things such as beliefs, habits, or values. Slightly more formal than 扔掉, implying a more deliberate act of rejection or abandonment rather than casual disposal.

Examples

1. 整理房间时，她毅然丢弃了多年积攒的旧物，轻装前行。 While tidying her room, she decisively threw away years’ worth of old belongings and moved forward unburdened.
2. 这项传统已被现代社会逐渐丢弃，鲜有人再遵守。 This tradition has gradually been abandoned in modern society, and few people still follow it.
3. 他丢弃了过去错误的观念，重新审视这一问题。 He abandoned his mistaken ideas from the past and took a fresh look at the issue.

Usage Guide

Context: daily life, environment, philosophy

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 整理办公室时，应将过期文件统一丢弃，以防信息泄露。(When tidying the office, expired documents should be discarded uniformly to prevent information leaks.)
• 他勇于丢弃陈旧的思维定式，为团队带来了全新的解决思路。(He bravely discarded outdated thinking patterns and brought entirely new problem-solving approaches to the team.)

Don't Say

• 丢弃垃圾 sounds redundant — use 扔垃圾 or 处理废弃物 instead; 丢弃 implies intentional rejection of something no longer wanted, not routine disposal

Origin & History

丢 (to lose/drop) + 弃 (to abandon/give up)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal