Chinese word

解围

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiě wéi

Meaning

  • verbdefuse the situation

Example

她一句话就把尴尬解围了。tā yí jù huà jiù bǎ gān gà jiě wéi le

Her one sentence defused the awkward situation.

Illustration for 解围 (defuse the situation)

More examples

他的玩笑话帮大家解围，气氛立刻轻松。tā de wán xiào huà bāng dà jiā jiě wéi qì fēn lì kè qīng sōng

His joke helped everyone out, and the atmosphere immediately relaxed.

Core concept

A way of opening an exit from a tense or awkward social corner.

Common phrases

  • 给他解围gěi tā jiě wéi

    help him out

  • 及时解围jí shí jiě wéi

    come to the rescue in time

Similar words

缓解huán jiě: Make pain, tension, or a problem less severe and easier to handle.
化解huà jiě: Settle a conflict or deal with its cause so that the problem is resolved.
分散fēn sàn: Spread attention or interest across several things, reducing focus on one.
安抚ān fǔ: Calm someone's strong emotions and help that person feel settled.

Definition in Chinese

用言语或行为暂时化解尴尬或困难，使当事人脱离不利处境或缓和紧张气氛。yòng yán yǔ huò xíng wéi zàn shí huà jiě gān gà huò kùn nán shǐ dāng shì rén tuō lí bú lì chǔ jìng huò huǎn hé jǐn zhāng qì fēn

Word origin

解 (jiě, "release") + 围 (wéi, "surround") forms the picture of opening an encirclement, a military sense that later became a metaphor for helping someone out of a social predicament.

Usage tips

  • In everyday speech, the helper is often the subject and the embarrassed person the object, so the verb commonly describes one person rescuing another from an awkward moment.

Other meanings

  • easeverb
  • relieve a siegeverb

Opposites

  • 陷入困境xiàn rù kùn jìngget into troubleverb

Word lists with this word