<p>In this context, &quot;托&quot; means the person who pretend to involve an activity or to support someone to perform a scam typically.
It is related to 衬托, but derogatory sense only.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-08T02:49:37.503Z
2020-08-08T02:49:37.503Z
soflare
<p>&quot;托&quot; is a verb, meaning &quot;perform intermediary, agency-like activity as the third party&quot;. For example, &quot;我想托你办事&quot; means &quot;I want you to perform intermediary activity for me, solving my issues&quot;. In china, the third-party agency or intermediary amounted a negative reputation for often exploiting both sides by making use of information asymmetry.</p>
<p>&quot;托儿&quot;, aka 托er,  is a derogatory noun for someone who performs agency activities. Usually, the &quot;托儿&quot; pretends to be a neutral third-party (without <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_of_interest" rel="nofollow noreferrer">COI</a>) to build buyer's trust, but what he actually does is to help the merchants to sell below-standard merchandise to the buyers.</p>
<p>In your specific case, Tang Wei thought Xiubo was her friend, but later she was unsatisfied, therefore thinking Xiubo as a for-profit agency who exploits her ignorance.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-09T01:29:30.850Z
2020-08-09T01:51:24.940Z
2020-08-09T01:51:24.940Z
High GPA
<p>In the movie <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finding_Mr._Right" rel="nofollow noreferrer">北京遇上西雅图</a> (~13m45s), after not immediately getting her way about her room 文佳佳 yells at Frank who is helping her with her luggage:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/vCNXh.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/vCNXhm.jpg" alt="photo of my TV" /></a><br />
<sub>(<a href="https://i.postimg.cc/Vv0JwHF7/vCNXh.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Alternative image link</a>.)</sub></p>
<p><strong>你就是个托</strong> 我算是看清楚了</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It means &quot;you are a 托&quot; and is some kind of insult, but I don't know what <a href="https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?wdqb=%E6%89%98" rel="nofollow noreferrer">托</a> means in this context.  It makes no sense to me (maybe it's related to <a href="https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?wdqb=%E8%A1%AC%E6%89%98" rel="nofollow noreferrer">衬托</a>).  The CC-CEDICT definitions are:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>prop / support (for weight) / rest (e.g. arm rest) / thanks to / to hold in one's hand / to support in one's palm / to give / to base / to commit / to set / torr (unit of pressure)<br />
to trust / to entrust / to be entrusted with / to act as trustee</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: What does 你就是个托 mean in this context?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-08T04:05:14.180Z
托 is a noun here. It's often been 儿化.  This dictionary definition helps: 帮助行骗者诱人上当的人
E. g. 
他是个托儿。
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-08T04:13:12.717Z
Perhaps, its English equivalent can be a 'shill'? Hope English speakers can help to confirm it or suggest another alternative words or phrases. Thanks!
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-08T05:47:35.767Z
Not native speaker but I believe shill is accurate. You can also say that person is a decoy, or they are hired/paid.
NS.X.
<meaning-in-context><spoken>
What does 你就是个托 mean, which 文佳佳 yells at Frank in the movie 北京遇上西雅图 (Finding Mr. Right)?
# What does 你就是个托 mean, which 文佳佳 yells at Frank in the movie 北京遇上西雅图 (Finding Mr. Right)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-08)

In the movie [北京遇上西雅图](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finding_Mr._Right) (~13m45s), after not immediately getting her way about her room 文佳佳 yells at Frank who is helping her with her luggage:

> [![photo of my TV](https://i.sstatic.net/vCNXhm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/vCNXh.jpg)  
> ([Alternative image link](https://i.postimg.cc/Vv0JwHF7/vCNXh.jpg).)
>
> **你就是个托** 我算是看清楚了

It means "you are a 托" and is some kind of insult, but I don't know what [托](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?wdqb=%E6%89%98) means in this context. It makes no sense to me (maybe it's related to [衬托](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?wdqb=%E8%A1%AC%E6%89%98)). The CC-CEDICT definitions are:

> prop / support (for weight) / rest (e.g. arm rest) / thanks to / to hold in one's hand / to support in one's palm / to give / to base / to commit / to set / torr (unit of pressure)  
> to trust / to entrust / to be entrusted with / to act as trustee

**Question**: What does 你就是个托 mean in this context?

**Tags:** meaning-in-context, spoken

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 托 is a noun here. It's often been 儿化.  This dictionary definition helps: 帮助行骗者诱人上当的人 E. g.  他是个托儿。  
> **username_1**: Perhaps, its English equivalent can be a 'shill'? Hope English speakers can help to confirm it or suggest another alternative words or phrases. Thanks!  
> **username_2**: Not native speaker but I believe shill is accurate. You can also say that person is a decoy, or they are hired/paid.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-08-09. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

"托" is a verb, meaning "perform intermediary, agency-like activity as the third party". For example, "我想托你办事" means "I want you to perform intermediary activity for me, solving my issues". In china, the third-party agency or intermediary amounted a negative reputation for often exploiting both sides by making use of information asymmetry.

"托儿", aka 托er, is a derogatory noun for someone who performs agency activities. Usually, the "托儿" pretends to be a neutral third-party (without [COI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_of_interest)) to build buyer's trust, but what he actually does is to help the merchants to sell below-standard merchandise to the buyers.

In your specific case, Tang Wei thought Xiubo was her friend, but later she was unsatisfied, therefore thinking Xiubo as a for-profit agency who exploits her ignorance.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2020-08-08. Score: 4

In this context, "托" means the person who pretend to involve an activity or to support someone to perform a scam typically.
It is related to 衬托, but derogatory sense only.


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