退步 tuìbù▶ Lạc hậu; chậm tiến

Stroke order

退步 is written in 16 strokes across 2 characters.

• 退 — 9 strokes
• 步 — 7 strokes

Senses

1. to do less well than before
2. to make a concession
3. setback
4. backward step
5. leeway
6. room to maneuver
7. fallback

Related words

• 退rút lui
• 步骤bước
• 进步tiến bộ
• 退休nghỉ hưu
• 逐步dần dần
• 初步sơ bộ

退步 is pronounced tuìbù and means “Lạc hậu; chậm tiến”. It belongs to the HSK 5 vocabulary, one of the six bands of the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, China’s official Chinese proficiency exam. Recognising 退步 on a page and producing it in conversation are different skills, and only the second holds up when someone is waiting for an answer — so LexiTrail brings it back just as your memory of it starts to fade, not on a fixed weekly rota.