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扭曲 (niǔ qū) — to twist (physically); to distort (truth, meaning, etc.)

Definition

扭曲 covers both physical twisting and figurative distortion (facts, character). 扭 is a lighter single-character verb (often physical or 'turn a knob'); 歪曲 is strictly about misrepresenting truth or facts.

verb
to twist (physically)to distort (truth, meaning, etc.)

Examples

  • 扭曲。
    Tā bǎ tiě sī niǔ qū chéng le yí gè huán.
    He twisted the wire into a ring.
  • 扭曲。
    Méi tǐ jīng cháng niǔ qū shì shí lái xī yǐn dú zhě.
    The media often distorts facts to attract readers.
  • 扭曲。
    Cháng qī de yā lì huì shǐ rén de xìng gé niǔ qū.
    Long-term stress can distort a person's character.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

扭niǔtwist
曲qǔbend

扭 and 曲 both describe twisting or bending, so the word means to twist, warp, or distort.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丑
丑chǒu扭niǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

扭 has 手 (hand) beside 丑. The 手 part shows that the meaning involves a hand action, and 丑 gives the sound.

Open 扭 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

曲 is drawn as a bent object, matching the meaning 'bend'.

Open 曲 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.