Definition
盾牌 originally refers to a physical shield used for protection in combat, similar to English 'shield'. It is also commonly used metaphorically to mean a 'pretext' or 'excuse' — something you use to hide your real intentions or to deflect blame. The figurative sense is common in both spoken and written Chinese at the HSK 7 level.
n.
shield (protective armor)pretextexcuse (figurative)
Examples
- 盾牌。Tā ná qǐ dùn pái bǎohù zìjǐ.He picked up a shield to protect himself.
- 盾牌。Tā zhǎo le yí gè dùn pái lái yǎngài zìjǐ de cuòwù.He found a pretext to cover up his own mistake.
- 盾牌。Nàxiē huà zhǐ shì tā yòng lái tuōyán shíjiān de dùn pái.Those words were just a pretext he used to buy time.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.