Chinese word

拖累

Pronunciation

Pinyintuō lěi

Meaning

  • verbdrag into

Example

别把我拖累进这件事。bié bǎ wǒ tuō lěi jìn zhè jiàn shì

Don't drag me into this.

Illustration for 拖累 (drag into)

More examples

不要因为你的决定把家人拖累进去。bú yào yīn wèi nǐ de jué dìng bǎ jiā rén tuō lěi jìn qù

Don't drag your family into it because of your decision.

Core concept

An outside matter catches hold of someone, draws them into it, and weighs them down with consequences that are not originally theirs.

Common phrases

  • 拖累同事tuō lěi tóng shì

    drag coworkers into it

  • 拖累家属tuō lěi jiā shǔ

    drag relatives into it

  • 被拖累bèi tuō lěi

    be dragged into it

Similar words

连累lián lěi: To make someone share the harm or responsibility caused by another person's trouble.
卷入juǎn rù: To involve someone in an incident or conflict, making them face its risks or problems.
牵连qiān lián: To link someone to an event through facts or evidence, making its consequences reach them.
牵扯qiān chě: To draw someone into a problem or matter and make them part of the situation.

Definition in Chinese

使人因他人的行为或事件而遭受牵连、增加麻烦或负担，常以被动形式出现。shǐ rén yīn tā rén de xíng wéi huò shì jiàn ér zāo shòu qiān lián zēng jiā má fán huò fù dān cháng yǐ bèi dòng xíng shì chū xiàn

Word origin

拖累 (tuōlěi, "drag and burden") joins 拖 (tuō, "drag") with 累 (lěi, "burden") to picture a pull that leaves another person carrying the resulting trouble.

Usage tips

  • The source of the burden can be either a person's actions or an ongoing situation, so the thing causing the trouble need not be a person.

Other meanings

  • drag downverb
  • burdenverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word