脱身

• Pinyin: tuō shēn
• Hanzi breakdown: 脱 = 月 (flesh/body) + 兑 (shed); 身 = pictograph of a pregnant woman, extended to mean 'body/person'

Meaning

To get away; to extricate oneself; to free oneself from a situation. Managing to leave a difficult, demanding, or entangling situation.

Implies that leaving is not easy — there are obligations, dangers, or complications that make departure difficult. Used when someone is tied up with work, trapped in a dangerous situation, or entangled in social obligations. Often appears in negative constructions: 脱不开身 (can't get away) is very common.

Examples

1. 他忙于多个项目，一时半会儿根本脱不了身。 He is tied up with multiple projects and simply cannot get away for the time being.
2. 危机关头，他机智地找到机会脱身，避开了追捕。 At the critical moment, he cleverly seized an opportunity to slip away and evade capture.
3. 她在那段充满控制欲的关系中挣扎了好久才脱身。 She struggled for a long time before finally extricating herself from that controlling relationship.

Usage Guide

Context: personal, professional, social

Tone: colloquial

Do Say

• 最近手头的事太多，实在脱不开身去参加聚会。(I've got too much on my plate right now — I really can't get away to join the gathering.)
• 当年他是怎么从那个困境中脱身的，至今还是个谜。(How he managed to extricate himself from that predicament back then remains a mystery to this day.)

Don't Say

• 用'脱身'形容轻松离开 (脱身 implies the situation makes leaving difficult; for a simple departure use 离开 or 走)

Origin & History

Compound of 脱 (shed, escape from) + 身 (body, one's person). Literally 'free one's body from,' i.e., extract oneself from an entangling situation.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal