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扳手 (bān shǒu) — (v.o., literal) to hold back or pull someone's hand; (v.o., colloquial) to be short of money, to be strapped for cash

Definition

As a verb-object phrase, 扳手 literally means to pull or hold back someone's hand. Colloquially it also means being short of money — like saying you're 'strapped' in English.

verb
(v.o., literal) to hold back or pull someone's hand(v.o., colloquial) to be short of moneyto be strapped for cash

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā yòng lì bān le yí xià wǒ de shǒu, shì yì wǒ bié shuō huà.
    He forcefully pulled my hand, signaling me not to speak.
  • 扳手，。
    Zuì jìn shǒu tóu hěn bān shǒu, mǎi bù qǐ xīn shǒu jī.
    I've been very short of money lately, can't afford a new phone.
  • 扳手，。
    Zhè ge yuè bān shǒu sān gè yuè le, zhōng yú děng dào fā gōng zī.
    I've been broke for three months this time, finally waiting for payday.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

扳bānpull or hold back
手shǒuhand

扳 means to pull or hold back and 手 is the hand, giving the literal idea of restraining someone's hand.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 扳 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →
Appears in
Money & Currency

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