卻

The glyph functions across three primary axes of reversal:

• Spatial/Physical: To retreat, withdraw, or step backward; often implies a sudden turn or return to a previous position.
• Volitional: To decline, reject, or refuse (e.g., an offer, request, or appointment).
• Logical/Contrastive: An adverb meaning "but," "yet," "still," or "on the contrary."

• Verb: Can be intransitive (to retreat) or transitive (to decline something).
• Adverb: Typically appears after the subject to modify the predicate; signals that the resulting action is contrary to expectation based on preceding context.
• Complement: May occasionally function as a directional complement indicating a return or reversal of action.

• Contrast with 但 (dàn) and 而 (ér): When used as "but," 卻 emphasizes the unexpectedness of the outcome, signaling a pivot in narrative logic rather than a simple conjunction.
• Contrast with 退 (tuì): Both involve retreating, but 卻 often captures the act of turning away or sudden withdrawal, whereas 退 may imply a more formal or permanent retreat.
• Contrast with 拒 (jù): 拒 denotes active resistance or blocking; 卻 denotes a turning away or declining.

• Variant: 却 (U+5374). Generally treated as an interchangeable variant in classical contexts.

// Reading: Tang-period reading //kiɑk.

The variant 却 (U+5374) lacks the 心 (heart) component found in 卻. While some suggest a distinction between volitional (with heart) and mechanical (without heart) retreat in very early texts, they are generally treated as the same lexeme.