---
title: "Jiekou Meaning: 借口 (jièkǒu) Means “excuse”"
description: "借口 (traditional 藉口, jièkǒu) means “excuse; pretext; to use as an excuse”. Hear its tones, see what 借 and 口 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jiekou"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 借口 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

借口 jièkǒu

## excuse; pretext; to use as an excuse

## Its characters

1. 借 jiè to make use of
2. 口 kǒu mouth

## In a sentence

他总是找借口不做作业。 He always finds excuses not to do his homework.

从那以后，我每个星期都去爷爷家一次，**借口**是去“检查收音机”，其实是偷偷给播放器充电。

From [爷爷的收音机 · Grandpa's radio](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/grandpas-radio#library-word-446-448)

[More about 借口](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%80%9F%E5%8F%A3)

## More words with 借 or 口

- [窗口 chuāngkǒu](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/chuangkou)
- [出口 chūkǒu](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/chukou)
- [港口 gǎngkǒu](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/gangkou)
- [借鉴 jièjiàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jiejian)
- [借助 jièzhù](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jiezhu)
- [进口 jìnkǒu](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jinkou)
- [可口 kěkǒu](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kekou)
- [口岸 kǒu’àn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kouan)
- [口碑 kǒubēi](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/koubei)
- [口袋 kǒudai](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/koudai)

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[All 214 Chinese radicals](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-radicals)

[How it compares with Migaku](https://mandarinthewild.com/compare/migaku)