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ReadWriteQuiz
Chinese dictionary
- 1
v.use as an excuse/a pretext
她借口胃疼,没有参加考试。
She didn't take the examination on the excuse of a stomachache.
她借口头痛走了。
She left on the pretext of a headache.
他借口有约会,提前走了。
He left early, on the pretext of having another appointment.
- 2
n.excuse; pretext
别拿忙做借口而放松学习。
Don't slacken your study under the pretext of being too busy.
难道你就想不出一个比这更好的借口?
Can't you think up a better excuse than that?
盈利低微给了公司裁减冗员的借口。
Low profits gave the company an excuse to clean out the dead wood.
Word usage
- Note"借口" is different from "借故". "借故" is an adverb, and the reason for "借" is not clearly stated; when "借口" is a verb, the followeing object explains the excuse of the "借".
- common measure word"借口" is often matched with measure word "个"or"种"or"堆".
一个借口
one excuse
一种借口
one kind of excuse
一堆借口
one bunch of excuses