紧握 (jǐn wò) — to hold tightly; to grip firmly

Definition

verb

to hold tightlyto grip firmly

紧握，。
Tā jǐn wò zhe wǒ de shǒu, bù kěn fàng kāi.
He held my hand tightly and refused to let go.
紧握，。
Tā bǎ jiǎng bēi jǐn wò zài xiōng qián, jī dòng dé shuō bù chū huà lái.
She held the trophy tightly to her chest, too moved to speak.
，紧握。
Zài kùn nan shí kè, wǒ men bì xū jǐn wò xī wàng.
In difficult times, we must hold on tightly to hope.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

紧 means tight and 握 means grasp, giving the idea of grasping in a tight way.

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 緊; 紧 is its simplified writing.

臤糸緊

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mì

Sound part声符shēngfú

臤

臤qiān緊jǐn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 緊 pairs 糸 (thread) with 臤 as a sound part; the simplified 紧 is a later shorthand.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

扌屋握

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

屋

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

握 has 扌, a hand shape, on the left, and 屋 on the right, which gives its sound.