Chinese word

劫

Pronunciation

Pinyinjié

Meaning

  • verbhijack

Example

恐怖分子试图劫持飞机。kǒng bù fèn zi shì tú jié chí fēi jī

Terrorists tried to hijack the plane.

Illustration for 劫 (hijack)

More examples

海盗试图劫持这艘油轮。hǎi dào shì tú jié chí zhè sōu yóu lún

Pirates tried to hijack this oil tanker.

Core concept

Forcibly taking a person or thing stops it from moving or acting freely.

Common phrases

  • 实施劫持shí shī jié chí

    carry out a hijacking

  • 劫持船只jié chí chuán zhī

    hijack a ship

  • 防止劫持fáng zhǐ jié chí

    prevent hijacking

Similar words

绑架bǎng jià: Forcibly carrying a person away and holding that person against their will.
抢劫qiǎng jié: Using force or threats to take property from someone.
挟持xié chí: Holding a person or object in place by threat while seeking to get demands met.

Definition in Chinese

通过暴力或威胁强行夺走并控制他人或物，常见于合成词“劫持”，表示剥夺目标的行动自由并加以拘束。tōng guò bào lì huò wēi xié qiáng xíng duó zǒu bìng kòng zhì tā rén huò wù cháng jiàn yú hé chéng cí jié chí biǎo shì bō duó mù biāo de xíng dòng zì yóu bìng jiā yǐ jū shù

Word origin

In the common formation 劫 (jié, "to seize by force") + 持 (chí, "to hold"), the two characters express seizing a target and keeping it under control.

Usage tips

  • English speakers often associate hijacking only with vehicles, but this Chinese element can also describe the forced taking of a person, with the surrounding noun showing the target.

Other meanings

  • kidnapverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 劫持者jié chí zhěhijackernoun
  • 劫持罪jié chí zuìhijacking offensenoun
  • 劫掠jié lüèplunderverb

Word lists with this word