Chinese word

扭

Pronunciation

Pinyinniǔ

Meaning

  • verbtwist

Example

他不小心把脚扭了。tā bù xiǎo xīn bǎ jiǎo niǔ le

He accidentally twisted his foot.

Illustration for 扭 (twist)

More examples

听到声音，他猛地扭头看过去。tīng dào shēng yīn tā měng dì niǔ tóu kàn guò qù

When he heard a sound, he suddenly turned his head to look.

Core concept

Force applied at one point makes an object or body part rotate, bend, or shift, sometimes in small repeated motions.

Common phrases

  • 扭伤niǔ shāng

    sprain

  • 扭头niǔ tóu

    turn one's head

  • 扭动niǔ dòng

    wriggle

Similar words

扭动niǔ dòng: To wiggle a body or body part with small side-to-side or back-and-forth movements.
拧níng: To turn something by holding it firmly and twisting it with the hand.
旋转xuán zhuǎn: To rotate around a center or axis, or cause something to rotate that way.
弯曲wān qū: To curve or fold something straight, including a body part.

Definition in Chinese

用手或身体的一部分使某物转动、弯曲或改变方向的动作。yòng shǒu huò shēn tǐ de yí bù fèn shǐ mǒu wù zhuǎn dòng wān qū huò gǎi biàn fāng xiàng de dòng zuò

Word origin

扭 (niǔ, "twist") combines 扌 (shǒu, "hand"), which marks a hand-related action, with 丑 (chǒu, "ox"), which mainly supplies the pronunciation.

Usage tips

  • With a person as the subject, the verb can describe an awkward body movement, while with an object it can describe deliberate handling; this contrast helps interpret short spoken sentences.

Other meanings

  • turnverb
  • wriggleverb

Opposites

  • 挺直tǐng zhístraightenverb

Related words

Word lists with this word