强压 (qiáng yā) — to forcefully suppress, to put down by force

Definition

强压 (qiángyā) means to suppress something by force or willpower — feelings, protests, or dissent. The first character emphasizes force/coercion, distinguishing it from milder ways of holding back.

verb
to forcefully suppressto put down by force

Examples

  • 强压。
    Zhèng fǔ qiáng yā le zhè cì kàng yì huó dòng.
    The government forcefully suppressed this protest activity.
  • 强压。
    Tā nǔ lì qiáng yā xīn zhōng de nù huǒ.
    He tried hard to suppress the anger in his heart.
  • 强压。
    Zhè zhǒng zhèng cè zhī huì qiáng yā rén mín de chuàng zào lì.
    This kind of policy will only suppress the people's creativity.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

强qiángstrong
压yāpress

强压: 强 (strong) and 压 (press) form strong pressing, i.e. forcefully suppress.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 強; 强 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 強 pairs an insect component with a sound component; this explains 強, not the simplified 强.

Open 强 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 壓; 压 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔdust
Sound part声符shēngfú
厭
厭yàn壓yā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 壓 is built from 土, dust, and 厭, which gives the sound; 压 is the simplified form of 壓.

Open 压 →

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