讹诈

• Pinyin: é zhà
• Hanzi breakdown: 讹 = 讠(speech) + 化 (to transform) — speech that distorts truth; 诈 = 讠(speech) + 乍 (sudden/abrupt) — sudden deceptive speech used to trap another

Meaning

To extort; to blackmail. Threatening someone into paying money or granting concessions through deception or coercion.

讹诈 combines deception (讹 — false information) with coercion (诈 — trickery). It is used in legal, criminal, and geopolitical contexts. 敲诈勒索 is a close formal synonym often used in criminal law. In international contexts, it describes coercive diplomacy.

Examples

1. 该犯罪团伙以曝光隐私相威胁，讹诈多名受害者，涉案金额高达数百万元。 The criminal gang threatened to expose private information to extort multiple victims, with the amount involved reaching several million yuan.
2. 他不屑于向不合理的要求屈服，坚决拒绝了对方的讹诈。 He refused to give in to unreasonable demands and firmly rejected the other side’s extortion attempt.
3. 某些国家在外交谈判中惯用讹诈手段，以制裁相威胁来换取经济利益。 Some countries habitually use blackmail tactics in diplomatic negotiations, threatening sanctions to extract economic benefits.

Usage Guide

Context: law, crime, diplomacy, finance

Tone: accusatory

Do Say

• 警方接到报案后迅速展开调查，最终将实施讹诈的团伙一网打尽，追回了受害人的全部损失。(After receiving the report, the police launched a swift investigation and ultimately rounded up the entire extortion gang, recovering all losses for the victims.)
• 在国际外交中，以经济制裁手段对他国实施讹诈的行为，实质上是对国际规则与主权原则的公然挑战。(In international diplomacy, using economic sanctions to extort other countries is in essence a blatant challenge to international rules and the principle of sovereignty.)

Don't Say

• 她讹诈地要求加薪 — 讹诈 requires an element of threatening and criminal coercion, not merely a forceful request; for salary negotiation use 强硬地要求; 讹诈 has serious criminal connotations

Origin & History

讹 (false/to deceive) + 诈 (to swindle/trick) — combining deception and trickery to extort

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal