Chinese word

揪

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiū

Meaning

  • verbgrab

Example

我被她揪住了手腕。wǒ bèi tā jiū zhù le shǒu wàn

She grabbed my wrist.

Illustration for 揪 (grab)

More examples

他终于被对方揪住了把柄。tā zhōng yú bèi duì fāng jiū zhù le bá bǐng

His opponent finally got hold of his weakness.

Core concept

Fingers seize a small part and apply enough force to keep contact, tug it, or press it between the fingers.

Common phrases

  • 揪住把柄jiū zhù bá bǐng

    get hold of a weakness

  • 揪住证据jiū zhù zhèng jù

    get hold of evidence

Similar words

拉lā: Make something move in one direction by pulling it with a hand or tool.
抓zhuā: Catch or grasp something swiftly with the hand or fingers.
扯chě: Pull at something with force, making it stretch or come apart.
拽zhuāi: Drag something along by pulling it sharply and strongly.

Definition in Chinese

用手抓住或拽住某物的一部分，常带有快速或有力的动作，也可用于比喻。yòng shǒu zhuā zhù huò zhuāi zhù mǒu wù de yí bù fèn cháng dài yǒu kuài sù huò yǒu lì de dòng zuò yě kě yòng yú bǐ yù

Word origin

揪 (jiū, "grab") combines 扌 (shǒu, "hand") with the sound-bearing component 秋 (qiū, "autumn"), giving the character a visible link to a hand action and a reliable pronunciation clue.

Usage tips

  • The word commonly describes a sudden action directed at one part of something, rather than taking hold of an object as a whole, which helps distinguish it from many general English uses of "grab."

Other meanings

  • pullverb
  • pinchverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 揪住jiū zhùgrab hold ofverb

Word lists with this word