捏一把汗 (niē yī bǎ) — to break into a cold sweat (from worry or anticipation); to be extremely nervous (usually on behalf of someone else)
Definition
A vivid, colloquial idiom for 'breaking into a cold sweat' from anxiety on someone else's behalf. Usually used with 为 / 替 + person.
verb
to break into a cold sweat (from worry or anticipation)to be extremely nervous (usually on behalf of someone else)
Examples
- ,捏一把汗。Kàn tā zài tái shàng yǎn jiǎng, wǒ wèi tā niē yī bǎ.Watching him give a speech on stage, I was nervous for him.
- ,捏一把汗。Bǐ sài zuì hòu jǐ miǎo zhōng, dà jiā dōu wèi duì yuán niē yī bǎ.In the last few seconds of the game, everyone was on tenterhooks for the players.
- ,捏一把汗。Tā kāi chē tài kuài le, zuò zài páng biān de rén zhí niē yī bǎ.He drove so fast that the person sitting next to him was breaking into a cold sweat.
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