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押 (yā) — to pawn, to mortgage; to take into custody, to detain; to escort (under guard)

Definition

押 (yā) covers three uses: pledging property (close to 抵押, but 押 can also mean pawning), taking someone into custody (similar to 拘留/扣押, but 押 stresses physical guarding), and escorting valuables under guard.

verb
to pawnto mortgageto take into custodyto detainto escort (under guard)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 押。
    Tā yòng jīn biǎo yā le yì bǐ qián.
    He pawned his gold watch for a sum of money.
  • 押。
    Tā yīn wèi tōu dōng xi bèi yā le.
    He was detained for stealing.
  • 押。
    Tā fù zé yā zhè pī huò wù.
    He is responsible for escorting this shipment.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
甲
甲jiǎ押yā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

押 pairs 扌, a hand, with 甲, which gives the sound.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Crime & Police5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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