cover for someone; help someone out; provide backup
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesverb
to cover for someone; to help someone out; to salvage a situation
neutralOriginally a theatrical term, literally meaning 'to fix the stage setup' (to salvage a performance). In modern usage, it's a metaphor for providing support to prevent someone's mistake from causing failure, or to help complete a task smoothly. Often used in workplace or collaborative contexts. The opposite is '拆台' (to undermine).
Tā他
zài在
huì会
yì议
shàng上
shuō说
cuò错
le了
shù数
jù据
，
wǒ我
gǎn赶
jǐn紧
fā发
yán言
bāng帮
tā他
bǔ补
tái台
。
He gave the wrong data in the meeting, so I quickly spoke up to cover for him.
Zhè这
ge个
xiàng项
mù目
xū需
yào要
dà大
jiā家
hù互
xiāng相
bǔ补
tái台
，
cái才
néng能
chéng成
gōng功
。
This project requires everyone to help each other out in order to succeed.
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Lǐng领
dǎo导
qiáng强
diào调
，
tuán团
duì队
jīng精
shén神
jiù就
shì是
yào要
hù互
xiāng相
bǔ补
tái台
，
ér而
bú不
shì是
chāi拆
tái台
。
The leader emphasized that teamwork is about supporting each other, not undermining.
Tā他
guān关
jiàn键
shí时
kè刻
bāng帮
wǒ我
bǔ补
le了
tái台
，
bì避
miǎn免
le了
yī一
chǎng场
gān尴
gà尬
。
He helped me out at the critical moment, avoiding an embarrassing situation.