台阶 táijiē HSK4 steps Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 下台阶 xiàtáijiē extricate oneself to find a way out of an embarrassing or awkward situation, often to save face; a way out找台阶儿 zhǎotáijiēr excuse to find a way out of an awkward situation or look for a pretext to save face