Chinese word

拳

Pronunciation

Pinyinquán

Meaning

  • nounfist

Example

他打了我一拳。tā dǎ le wǒ yì quán

He hit me once with his fist.

Illustration for 拳 (fist)

More examples

他愤怒地挥起拳，想要反击。tā fèn nù dì huī qǐ quán xiǎng yào fǎn jī

He angrily swung his fist, trying to fight back.

Core concept

A hand closed into a compact shape, or the forceful strike made by that hand.

Common phrases

  • 握拳wò quán

    clench one's fist

  • 挥拳huī quán

    swing one's fist

  • 出拳chū quán

    throw a punch

Similar words

拳头quán tou: A closed hand as a physical object, with the fingers curled into the palm.
手shǒu: The body part that holds, touches, and handles things.
手指shóu zhǐ: A narrow part of the hand used for touching and handling things.

Definition in Chinese

拳头、握成团的手，也可作为动作名表示用拳头打出的击打（例：一拳）；还常见于拳法、拳击等词汇中。quán tou wò chéng tuán de shǒu yě kě zuò wéi dòng zuò míng biǎo shì yòng quán tou dǎ chū de jī dǎ lì yì quán hái cháng jiàn yú quán fǎ quán jī děng cí huì zhōng

Word origin

The character 拳 (quán, "fist") contains 手 (shǒu, "hand"), linking the word to a closed hand, while its upper part mainly supplies the sound.

Usage tips

  • In conversation, 一拳 (yī quán, "one punch") counts a blow as one separate event, so a number can make the striking sense clear.

Other meanings

  • punchnoun
  • blownoun

Opposites

  • 掌zhǎngpalmnoun

Related words

Word lists with this word