撑腰 (chēng yāo) — to back someone up, to support (figuratively) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'hold the waist,' 撑腰 means to back someone up or give support. It's a separable verb: 给某人撑腰 or 撑某人的腰.

verb

to back someone upto support (figuratively)

Examples

撑腰，。
Yǒu lǎo bǎn gěi tā chēng yāo, tā shén me dōu bú pà.
With the boss backing him up, he's not afraid of anything.
撑腰，。
Zhǐ yào yǒu nǐ chēng yāo, wǒ jiù fàng xīn le.
As long as you have my back, I'm reassured.
？！
Nǐ pà shén me? wǒ chēng nǐ de yāo!
What are you afraid of? I've got your back!

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

撑 means prop or support and 腰 means waist, so it figuratively means backing someone.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 撐; 撑 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

牚

牚chēng撐chēng

Same sound today

The traditional form 撐 pairs 手 (hand) with 牚, which gives the sound; the simplified 撑 is a shorthand.

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

⺼Written in full as肉ròuflesh

Sound part声符shēngfú

要

要yào腰yāo

Same sound today

The left part ⺼ is flesh; the right part 要 gives the sound.

Appears in

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