推卸

• Pinyin: tuī xiè
• Hanzi breakdown: 推 = 扌 (hand) + 隹 (bird, phonetic); 卸 = 卩 (seal/kneel) + 午 (noon) — originally 'remove a cart's load'

Meaning

To shirk; to evade; to pass the buck. Refusing to accept responsibility for something that is one's own duty.

Strongly negative in tone. Almost exclusively appears with 责任 (推卸责任 = shirk responsibility). Implies selfish avoidance of accountability, especially in professional or social contexts where one clearly has an obligation. Using this term to describe someone is a serious criticism.

Examples

1. 出了事故就互相推卸责任，谁都不肯承担，这种风气要不得。 When an accident happens, they pass the blame back and forth and no one is willing to take responsibility — this culture has to stop.
2. 一个真正有担当的领导不会在关键时刻推卸责任。 A truly accountable leader will not shirk responsibility at a critical moment.
3. 他试图把错误推卸给下属，但事实早已查清。 He tried to push the blame onto his subordinate, but the facts had already been established.

Usage Guide

Context: professional, social, accountability

Tone: critical

Do Say

• 我们不能推卸这份责任，必须正面应对。(We cannot shirk this responsibility — we must face it head-on.)
• 他总是把失误推卸给别人，从不自我反省。(He always passes the blame to others and never reflects on himself.)

Don't Say

• 把合理的分工称为'推卸责任' (Don't use 推卸责任 to describe legitimate delegation — it implies selfish avoidance, not normal task assignment)

Origin & History

Compound of 推 (push away) + 卸 (unload, remove). Together mean 'push away and unload,' conveying the act of offloading one's responsibilities onto others.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal