Chinese symbol for “pretext”
由头
yóu tou
Traditional: 由頭
pretext; excuse; justification; reason
The closest CC-CEDICT match for pretext is 由头 (yóu tou), defined as: pretext; excuse; justification; reason.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “pretext”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 藉口 | jiè kǒu | to use as an excuse; on the pretext |
| 盾牌 | dùn pái | shield; pretext |
| 说辞 (說辭) | shuō cí | excuse; pretext |
| 借口 | jiè kǒu | to use as an excuse; excuse; pretext |
| 挡箭牌 (擋箭牌) | dǎng jiàn pái | arrow-blocking shield; (fig.) pretext; cover; sth used to deflect blame, criticism or pressure |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 由头.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 由于 (由於) | yóu yú | due to; as a result of |
| 自由 | zì yóu | freedom; liberty; free; unrestricted |
| 理由 | lǐ yóu | reason; grounds |
| 由此 | yóu cǐ | hereby; from this |
| 经由 (經由) | jīng yóu | via |
| 言论自由 (言論自由) | yán lùn zì yóu | freedom of speech |
| 头发 (頭髮) | tóu fa | hair (on the head) |
| 街头 (街頭) | jiē tóu | street |
See also: Japanese symbol for “pretext”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.