| 借口 | jiè kǒu | to use as an excuse / excuse / pretext |   |
| 盾牌 | dùn pái | shield / pretext / excuse | |
| 藉口 | jiè kǒu | to use as an excuse / on the pretext / excuse / pretext / also written 借口[jie4 kou3] | |
| 说辞 | shuō cí | excuse / pretext / entreaties / arguments | |
| 由头 | yóu tou | pretext / excuse / justification / reason | |
| 托词 | tuō cí | to make an excuse / pretext / excuse | |
| 借词 | jiè cí | loanword / pretext | |
| 口实 | kǒu shí | food / salary (old) / a pretext / a cause for gossip | |
| 饰词 | shì cí | excuse / pretext | |
| 动辄 | dòng zhé | easily / readily / frequently / at every turn / at the slightest pretext | |
| 借此 | jiè cǐ | using this as a pretext / thereby | |
| 假借 | jiǎ jiè | to make use of / to use sth as pretext / under false pretenses / under the guise of / masquerading as / lenient / tolerant / loan character (one of the Six Methods 六書|六书 / of forming Chinese characters) / character acquiring meanings by phonetic association / also called phonetic loan | |
| 话柄 | huà bǐng | a pretext for gossip / a matter for derision | |
| 借题发挥 | jiè tí fā huī | to use the current topic to put over one's own ideas / to use sth as a pretext to make a fuss | |
| 九一八事变 | Jiǔ Yī bā Shì biàn | the Mukden or Manchurian Railway Incident of 18th September 1931 used by the Japanese as a pretext to annex Manchuria / also known as Liutiaogou incident 柳條溝事變|柳条沟事变 | |
| 亚罗号 | Yà luó Hào | the Arrow (a Hong Kong registered ship involved in historical incident in 1856 used as pretext for the second Opium War) | |
| 亚罗号事件 | Yà luó Hào Shì jiàn | the Arrow Incident of 1856 (used as pretext for the second Opium War) | |
| 以免借口 | yǐ miǎn jiè kǒu | to remove sth that could be used as a pretext (idiom) | |
| 借端 | jiè duān | to use as pretext | |
| 假藉 | jiǎ jiè | to use sth as pretext / under false pretenses / under the guise of / masquerading as | |
| 欲加之罪，何患无词 | yù jiā zhī zuì , hé huàn wú cí | If you want to condemn sb, don't worry about the pretext (idiom, from Zuozhuan 左傳|左传) / one can always trump up a charge against sb / Give a dog a bad name, then hang him. / also written 慾加之罪,何 | |
| 欲加之罪，何患无辞 | yù jiā zhī zuì , hé huàn wú cí | If you want to condemn sb, don't worry about the pretext (idiom, from Zuozhuan 左傳|左传) / one can always trump up a charge against sb / Give a dog a bad name, then hang him. | |
| 找借口 | zhǎo jiè kǒu | to look for a pretext | |
| 找台阶儿 | zhǎo tái jiē r | to find an excuse / to look for a pretext | |
| 找辙 | zhǎo zhé | to look for a pretext | |
| 拿着鸡毛当令箭 | ná zhe jī máo dàng lìng jiàn | to wave a chicken feather as a token of authority (idiom) / to assume unwarranted authority on the basis of some pretext | |
| 推故 | tuī gù | to find a pretext for refusing | |
| 柳条沟事变 | liǔ tiáo gōu shì biàn | the Mukden or Manchurian railway incident of 18th September 1931 used by the Japanese as a pretext to annex Manchuria / also known as 9-18 incident 九一八事变 | |
| 话里套话 | huà lǐ tào huà | to use seemingly innocent conversation topics as a pretext to glean information / to touch upon other matters not central to the topic being discussed | |
| 衅端 | xìn duān | pretext for a dispute | |
| 柳条湖事件 | Liǔ tiáo Hú Shì jiàn | the Mukden or Manchurian Railway Incident of 18th September 1931 used by the Japanese as a pretext to annex Manchuria / also known as 9-18 incident 九一八事變|九一八事变[Jiu3 Yi1 ba1 Shi4 bian4] | |
| 查水表 | chá shuǐ biǎo | (Internet slang) (of the police) to ask to be let in on the pretext of checking the water meter / to barge into people's home on false pretences | |
| 尿遁 | niào dùn | (slang) pretext of needing to urinate (used to slip away to avoid having to do sth) | |
