抵制

• Pinyin: dǐ zhì
• Hanzi breakdown: 抵 = 扌 + 氐 (resist); 制 = 刀 + 未 (to restrain/control)

Meaning

To boycott; to resist; to oppose. To actively reject or refuse to engage with something one finds unacceptable — applied to consumer boycotts, ideological resistance, or social opposition.

Stronger than 反对 (to oppose) in that it implies active non-participation or refusal. Common in political, commercial, and social contexts: 抵制外国商品 (boycott foreign goods), 抵制腐败 (resist corruption), 抵制不良信息 (resist harmful content). Frequently appears in public campaigns and political statements.

Examples

1. 消费者自发组织抵制该品牌，原因是其广告内容被认为带有明显的歧视色彩。 Consumers organized a spontaneous boycott of the brand because its advertising was seen as clearly discriminatory.
2. 国际社会呼吁通过外交途径解决争端，避免采取经济抵制措施激化矛盾。 The international community is calling for disputes to be resolved through diplomacy to avoid escalating tensions with economic boycotts.
3. 青少年需要提高媒介素养，学会识别并主动抵制网络上的虚假信息和有害内容。 Teenagers need stronger media literacy so they can recognize and actively resist false information and harmful content online.

Usage Guide

Context: politics, commerce, social movements, media literacy

Tone: assertive

Do Say

• 面对垄断行为，消费者的集体抵制是市场自我纠正的重要力量。(Faced with monopolistic behaviour, collective consumer boycotts are an important force for market self-correction.)
• 抵制腐败不仅是法律要求，更是每位公民对社会公正的道德承诺。(Resisting corruption is not only a legal requirement but also a moral commitment to social justice from every citizen.)

Don't Say

• 我很抵制这件事 — unnatural; use 我强烈反对这件事 or 我坚决抵制这种行为; 抵制 is a verb, not an adjective — it cannot follow 很 and must take an object

Origin & History

抵 (counter) + 制 (restrain/control) — to counter and refuse

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal