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罢手 (bà shǒu) — to give up, to stop (doing something)

Definition

A more literary, emphatic 'give up / stop' than 放弃 — often used to stress that someone quits or walks away from a prolonged effort. Usually appears with the potential form 罢不了手 ('can't stop') in negative contexts.

verb
to give upto stop (doing something)

Examples

  • 罢手，。
    Tā jué dìng bà shǒu, bú zài jì xù zhè ge xiàng mù.
    He decided to give up and not continue this project.
  • ，。
    Tā bà bù liǎo shǒu, hái shì jì xù zuò le.
    She couldn't stop herself and still continued.
  • 。
    Zhè jiàn shì tā yǐ jīng bà guò liǎng cì shǒu le.
    He has already given up on this matter twice.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

罢bàstop
手shǒuhand

罢 means stop and 手 is hand, so stopping one's hand means giving up.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 罷; 罢 is its simplified writing.

The story is about the traditional form 罷: 网 (a net) and 能 are placed together to show catching a bear with a net. The simplified 罢 is a later abbreviation.

Open 罢 →

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
Will & Intention

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