垫背

墊背

diànbèi

verb

Meanings

1 to be a scapegoat
2 to take the blame for someone else
3 to suffer in someone's stead

Characters

to pad, cushion

Examples

出了事，他们总让我垫背。

Chūle shì, tāmen zǒng ràng wǒ diànbèi.

Whenever something goes wrong, they always make me take the fall.

我才不替他垫背呢。

Wǒ cái bù tì tā diànbèi ne.

I'm not about to take the rap for him.

Tips

memory

Literally 'pad the back' — like a cushion stuffed under someone else, taking the pressure that should land on them. 找(个)垫背的 'find a fall-guy' is the most common spoken use.

register

Colloquial. Often appears as 当垫背的 (act as scapegoat) or 找垫背的 (look for a scapegoat).

Stroke Order

垫 diàn

背 bēi